The SA-based company said its agreement with mDetect, Nomad Atomics, and DeteQt would help it improve its ExoShere product, which can help detect minerals underground from space.
It effectively allows mining companies to both speed up the hunt for minerals and reduce costs by lowering the need for invasive land surveying. Already, clients include Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, and Core Lithium.
Fleet Space chief executive Flavia Tata Nardini said, “For the global mining industry to achieve its potential as an industry leader in exploration data-intelligence, we must build the deep technologies and infrastructure that integrate breakthrough sensing modalities into a unified system.
“With our ExoSphere platform, Fleet Space has created the next-generation of satellite-connected geophysical methods while also investing in the development of frontier technologies like quantum gravimetry and muon tomography to enhance the predictive power of AI in exploration on a planetary scale.”
Fleet said Swinburne start-up mDetect specialises in muon tomography, a passive imaging technique that utilises naturally occurring particles from space known as muons to create 3D density maps of the subsurface.
This capability provides deep, high-resolution information that has promising applications in mineral exploration and drill targeting.
Enabling exploration teams to “see through” significant overburden and challenging geology, muon tomography complements shallower geophysical methods. It enhances AI’s ability to model deep-seated mineral systems without extensive drilling or ground disturbance.
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Victorian firm Nomad Atomics, meanwhile, is developing high-precision quantum gravimeters and accelerometers.
“Their technology leverages atomic physics to deliver drift-free, stable, and sensitive measurements,” said Fleet.
“This quantum-level precision will generate ultra-fine resolution gravity data to inform data-driven exploration strategies and improve the predictive outputs of Fleet Space’s AI, enabling highly accurate and precise detection of density contrasts and providing a valuable input for AI analysis of ore bodies and controlling structures.
“By removing the need for a base station and drift corrections, these instruments can generate accurate absolute gravity maps in real-time, enabling dynamic adjustments to the array on-the-fly.”
Finally, Fleet said DeteQT is “revolutionising the field” with its patented ‘diamond-on-chip’ quantum magnetometers.
“These remarkably sensitive, portable sensors detect vector magnetic fields with extreme precision, and can be manufactured and deployed at scale for widespread use in field operations,” it added.
“Integrated into Fleet Space’s low-impact, real-time magnetotelluric solution, these compact devices could enable the generation of 3D subsurface conductivity models with minimal ground disturbance and minimal digging required.”
The news comes shortly after Fleet said it would partner with Koloma, a US-based clean fuel start-up, to detect hydrogen reserves hidden in remote areas.
The project will combine Koloma’s “advanced data analytics tools” with Fleet Space Technologies’ ExoSphere satellite sensors to create 3D images of potential hydrogen sites underground.
Koloma has raised more than US$305 million since it was founded in 2021, while high-profile backers including Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Fleet also recently announced it has begun work on a new 5,000-square-metre headquarters near Adelaide Airport and also recently launched two new satellites – Centauri-7 and Centauri-8 – onboard SpaceX’s huge Transporter 12 rideshare mission.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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