Atomicistics Startup Offers "Virtual Drill" Technology For Identification Of Mineral Reserves

Artificial intelligence is used to find minerals. (photo: https://www.australianmining.com.au/)

JAKARTA - Singapore-based AI startup Atomicics has launched its technology that uses gravity and artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the ore body to its first customer, which it says can reduce costs and accelerate the development of mineral projects.

The company has now signed contracts with three major mining companies as part of a strategy to determine the body of a key metal ore for the energy transition, adding to work in Queensland state with New Hope's Bridgeport Energy unit, said CEO Sahil Tapiawala.

The major mining company is expected to complete data collection and analysis using a "virtual drill" technology that Gravi said earlier next year, he told Reuters.

"We are actively implementing critical minerals, particularly copper, nickel, zinc," said Tapiawala. He also added that the technology was introduced in Australia and the US.

He refused to identify the mining company for reasons of commercial confidentiality. This private company is supported by several government agencies and Singapore-based strategic investors.

Like many exploration technologies, Atomics takes advantage of the gravitational signatures of various minerals to determine their underground location.

The company is capable of doing so more precisely than ordinary air-based survey techniques, and processing data in real-time using artificial intelligence, accelerating work in determining the ore body.

Drilling a hole to look for minerals could cost between $10.000 and 50.000. A lithium miner may need up to 400 holes to prove resources, so building a more accurate virtual image before drilling can reduce that cost.

"The main challenge is that sometimes (borry holes) don't actually hit reserves," said Tapiawala. "We want to reduce this "empty" sample by at least half."

The mining industry uses various techniques to find minerals, including soilfill radars and aeromagnetic surveys, but no method guarantees such success.

KoBold Metals, a California-based startup backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, also uses AI to look for metals like lithium.

"The traditional energy industry will switch to seismic data before starting any drilling project," said Cameron Fink, exploration manager of Bridgeport Energy, in a statement.