The hum and buzz of MiningTech startups is challenging the status-quo of long-held associations of legacy systems and slow innovation in the mining sector. Fuelled by a growing demand for energy transition materials , a new generation of businesses, are creating technologies critical to powering the global energy transition. From extraction and processing to recycling and circularity, these companies led by visionary founders are solving complex problems, along the entire mining value chain.
What are the opportunity areas for MiningTech?
Here are 10 key areas where innovative technologies can transform the mining value chain to become a smarter, greener and more responsible industry.
- Exploration
- Advanced geophysical tools like 3D seismic imaging, LiDAR, and electromagnetic surveys provide detailed subsurface maps, enabling miners to identify high-grade deposits faster and with greater accuracy. This reduces exploration timelines and costs, along with reducing the environmental impact of surveying.
- High-resolution drones capture multispectral and hyperspectral data, enabling safer and cost-efficient terrain surveys and early-stage resource mapping.
- Resource Modeling and Planning
- Advanced 3D Geological modeling software integrates drilling, geochemical, and geophysical data in real-time to create precise ore body models, improving estimate reliability and mine planning.
- Digital Twins simulate replicas of deposits and planned operations help simulate scenarios, optimize extraction methods, and improve decision-making.
- Mine Development
- Autonomous drill rigs controlled by AI increase drilling precision, speed, and safety, reducing human exposure to hazardous environments.
- Modular Construction Technologies in the form of Prefabricated components and modular processing plants accelerate site development and reduce initial capital expenditure.
- Excavation
- Automation, robotics, and AI-powered systems can also allow for efficient extraction in challenging environments like deep underground mines or remote locations.
- Technology can also help mines with process optimization, such as using AI-enhanced sensors to separate high-grade ore from waste material more efficiently.
- Material Handling
- Fully electric excavators, AI-enhanced drills, autonomous haul trucks, and conveyor systems equipped with IoT sensors for energy-efficient operations are optimizing material handling.
- AI in mining operations can help with predictive maintenance, scheduling maintenance for equipment before breakdowns occur, which helps minimize downtime, extend the lifespan of critical machinery, and reduce operational costs.
- Processing and Refining
- Smart sensors detect mineral content and allows sorting of ores based on composition. Mines can extract more metal from lower grade ores.
- Energy Storage and Use
- Solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage systems such as hydrogen batteries are being integrated into mining sites to replace fossil fuel-based power.
- AI-driven energy management systems optimize energy consumption, ensuring that renewable sources meet operational demands. Excess energy can be stored or fed back into the grid, helping mines achieve net-zero energy usag
- Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies trap emissions from mining activities and either store them underground or repurpose them for industrial use. Hydrogen-powered equipment and electric vehicles (EVs) can also contribute to lowering the carbon footprint.
- Innovations in battery chemistry (e.g., lithium-iron-phosphate [LFP] batteries) and electric motors (e.g., REE-free designs) enable the industry to adapt to shifting demand patterns for specific material.
- Logistics and Transportation
- AI-driven logistics technologies in mining are projected to reduce material transport costs by up to 30% through sophisticated route optimization and demand forecasting, enabling more efficient and cost-effective operations.
- Recycling and Recovery from Non-Primary Sources
- Recycling and recovery technologies enable the reuse of mine waste, tailings, and scrap materials. For instance, innovative new treatment techniques for mining waste such as bioleaching or phytomining can help to extract more valuable metals from waste streams, promoting resource efficiency. This can reduce the reliance on virgin resources at the mine.
- Smart water management systems can use IoT sensors, AI, and advanced filtration to monitor and optimize water usage. Technologies like desalination and closed-loop water recycling reduce freshwater consumption, which is often high at mining sites.
- Drones and satellite imagery can track land restoration efforts, while bioremediation techniques using genetically engineered organisms can rehabilitate contaminated soils.
- Worker Health and Safety
- Autonomous vehicles, drones, and remote-controlled machinery reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous conditions, such as underground collapses or toxic gases. Remote operation centers allow workers to control equipment from safe locations miles away.
- IoT sensors and AI algorithms predict equipment failures before they occur, reducing accidents caused by malfunctioning machinery and minimizing unplanned downtime.
- Smart helmets, vests, and other wearables monitor workers’ health and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, air quality), alerting them to potential risks in real-time.
- Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) platforms provide immersive training experiences, equipping workers with the skills needed to operate advanced technologies safely and effectively.
Spotlight: 3 Startups Transforming Mining Operations
Unlike past generations focused purely on machinery or physical output, today’s MiningTech entrepreneurs are combining deep tech, sustainability imperatives, and business model innovation to reshape the industry. Here are three Prospect Innovation portfolio companies that are combining deep tech, sustainability imperatives and business model innovation to reshape the industry.
Nth Cycle:
The Problem:
Electric vehicles and wind turbines are integral to energy transition solutions. However, metals and minerals used in their production are extracted from the earth at a significant monetary and environmental cost. While large amounts of critical minerals are being circulated in cell phones and computers, only a small quantity of those are being recycled. Additionally, traditional recycling technologies, such as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, are environmentally unfriendly.
The Solution:
Nth Cycle, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 2017 by Megan O’Connor and focuses on refining electronic waste and mining scrap using sustainable methods. Using a proprietary electro-extraction technology called the “Oyster”, Nth Cycle converts scrap and waste into high-purity mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), which is utilized in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and clean energy storage.
🔹 Impact snapshot: Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% compared to traditional refining methods while enabling domestic EV supply chains.
ACE Green Recycling
The Problem:
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), “nearly one in five cars sold in 2023 was electric“. This was a 35% year-on-year increase compared to 2022 and brought the number of EVs on the world’s roads to 40 million. The problem with this is that demand for batteries and the materials required to make them is soaring. At the same time, recycling batteries is a complex process.
The Solution:
ACE Green Recycling is a battery recycling technology platform offering that offers end-of-life solutions. It deploys modular, zero-scope, carbon-emissions-free recycling plants for lead batteries and lithium (NMC & LFP) used in diverse industries, including electronics, automotive, and energy storage. ACE collaborates across the battery ecosystem to create circular solutions that retain critical battery materials from waste.
🔹 Impact snapshot: Compelling environmental and economic advantages, with 3 million lbs processed with superior recovery rates (>99% purity), up to 40% lower CapEx vs. traditional methods, lower minimum plant size, 5000 MT vs 20,000+ MT.
Genomines
The Problem:
Traditionally, mining is slow , dirty and insufficient to meet global demand. Around 4–7 % of total GHG emissions come from mining, while it takes around 15 years to set up a mine, with demand expected to increase drastically in the next two decades.
The Solution:
Genomines, focuses on sustainable metal extraction using genetically enhanced plants. Using genetic modification , Genomines develops hyperaccumulator plants that are able to absorb nickel from contaminated soil at mining sites, which then concentrate the nickel in their tissues. These plants will then be harvested through bioleaching and the nickel extracted, turning what used to be a liability for mining companies into a profitable, low-carbon source of nickel while simultaneously cleaning the contaminated land.
Prospect Innovation is proud to have worked with Genomines as part of the UpLink – World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Mining Challenge, providing funding and a platform to showcase their innovative approach to sustainable nickel production using biotechnology and agromining.
🔹 Impact snapshot: Up to 2.5 tonnes of nickel per hectare per year can be extracted from toxic mine soil, along with remediating the land.
What Are The Challenges of Scaling in a Risk-Averse Industry?
While opportunities abound in MiningTech, so do challenges, including-
- Capital Gaps: With traditional investors still unfamiliar with the sector or viewing it as high-risk, securing scale-up funding for start-ups remains a challenge.
- Procurement Friction: Established operators often lack flexible procurement channels or budget structures that enable them to adopt technologies from emerging players.
- Regulatory Hurdles: From environmental approvals to safety standards, navigating compliance in multiple jurisdictions can slow down even the most promising solutions.
To overcome these obstacles, greater alignment among startups, mining majors, regulators, and investors is needed—along with a shared understanding of the long-term value that technology brings to the sector.
Mining’s future is not only underground—it’s being built in code, sensors, and sustainable systems. A pipeline of emerging technologies is creating new possibilities for long-term energy security, enabling climate transition, and advancing manufacturing competitiveness.
As an investor and eco-system builder, Prospect Innovation is committed to accelerating a smarter, greener and more responsible future in mining. By investing in financially sustainable early stage technologies that promote operational efficiency, environmental care and social responsibility in the metals and minerals sector, we aim to foster cross-sector knowledge sharing and collaboration across a vibrant community. We believe that MiningTech start-ups are not just technology bets – they represent critical infrastructure investments for the future.
