Week of March 13, 2024

NASA engineer preparing CADRE rover for next Moon mission.

NASA adds CADRE rovers to next Moon mission

A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News | Mar 13, 2024

Jet Propulsion Lab rovers will conduct autonomous experiments to test viability of mostly independent robotic work in space. After years of research and development, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that its CADRE mini-rovers will soon arrive on the Moon aboard a lunar lander to test the viability of cooperative robotics in future exploration of celestial bodies. Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, the...

Closeup of an Exyn drone equipped with lidar survey equipment.

Exyn mapping tech put to the test at Pogo

Shane Lasley, Data Mine North | Mar 9, 2024

Recent study shows Exyn drones more safely collect higher quality survey data in half the time compared to traditional mine mapping methods. Exyn Technologies' drone-based mapping system is faster, more accurate, and infinitely safer than traditional underground mine surveying technologies, according to a recent study completed at Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Pogo gold mine in Alaska. "[T]he data doesn't even compare," said Andrew Loomes, chief mine surveyor at Pogo. Exyn...

BluVeinXL charging system connecting large mining truck to blue e-rail.

Charging the future e-mine with BluVein

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

Aussie tech company develops innovative on-the-go charging system for electric mining trucks; collaborating with Hitachi Energy to enhance system. The quest for net-zero carbon emissions has mining companies and heavy equipment manufacturers brainstorming on innovative ways to electrify mining trucks often designed to haul hundreds of tons of rock per load. A dynamic charging system developed by Australia-based BluVein offers a solution that can be retrofitted to all brands...

A drone flies by a mountain shrouded in clouds.

Quantum leap for mineral exploration

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

SBQuantum and Silicon Microgravity merge cutting-edge geophysics tech into a single drone-mounted platform. The world's first diamond quantum magnetometers, a disruptive gravity sensor technology, are being combined with drones into a platform aimed at accelerating the discovery of minerals and metals critical to the high-tech and green energy future. "We'll be combining two key geophysical surveying methods, gravimetry and magnetics, to quickly identify promising mineral...

Image of a Fleet Space nanosatellite over Earth.

Space-based mineral exploration upgrade

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 13, 2024

New machine learning enhancements make ExoSphere faster and more powerful than ever; Fleet Space joins Stanford's Mineral-X program Already a powerful tool that is being leveraged by global mining companies such as Rio Tinto and Barrick Gold Corp. to discover mineral deposits hidden below the earth's surface, Fleet Space Technologies' satellite-enabled ExoSphere is now more powerful and faster than ever thanks to the introduction of machine learning. First introduced in 2022,...

A breccia-style rock that shows varied types of rocks within.

Arizona copper miner enlists AI power

A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News | Mar 6, 2024

Prismo Metals brings ExploreTech xFlare technology to world-class copper project Heating up its exploration endeavors at the company's Hot Breccia project in the heart of the great Arizona Copper Belt, Prismo Metals Inc. has enlisted the support of Exploration Technologies Inc.'s xFlare artificial intelligence technology to assess the potential of this world-class copper target. "The Hot Breccia project should be an ideal place to apply xFlare," said Prismo Metals President...

A pile of bluish silver lead bars stamped with “Doe Run.”

DOD invests in Missouri battery metals

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 18, 2024

Pentagon awards Doe Run $7 million to help scale up a cobalt and nickel processing plant in The Show-Me State. As part of a larger objective to ensure the United States has reliable domestic supplies of the minerals and metals critical to the nation's economy and security, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded The Doe Run Resources Corp. $7 million to complete a demonstration-scale hydrometallurgical plant for separation of cobalt and nickel at their facility in...

An AI representation of quantum computing with electronic structures in globes.

Quantum computing quest lands on rare earth

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 18, 2024

Materials scientists identified europium as an ideal element for a new material that is a strong candidate for use in quantum memory. Pioneering into the frontiers of technology has scientists venturing deeper into the periodic table to discover elements with properties required for tomorrow's innovations. This is especially true for quantum computers and networks, which demand very specific and unique attributes that require a scientific expedition into unexplored chemical...

Employee examining recycling e-scrap at one of its facilities.

Glencore invests another $75M in Li-Cycle

A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

Supports future recycling leader toward ongoing facility construction. Almost two years after its initial $200 million investment from Glencore plc, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. has announced a new $75 million strategic investment from the Swiss commodities trading and mining company to help the recycling company continue to position itself as a future leader in the production of critical battery materials. "We are pleased to secure an additional $75 million investment from...

A bin full of retired CPUs from old laptops or computers.

DOE offers E-SCRAP prize for recycling

A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

Seeks innovation in recovering untapped multi-billion-dollar electronic scrap industry in America. Organizing an engaging competition to spur recycling of critical materials from electronic scrap, the U.S. Department of Energy launched its Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize (E-SCRAP), which will award up to $4 million for winning competitors. Including mobile phones, home appliances, medical or office equipment and essentially any other consumer technology powered...

Piles of black, white, grey, and yellow rare earth oxide powders.

USA Rare Earth secures magnet feedstock

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

Enters into agreement with ReElement for a domestic supply of rare earths for its magnet plant in Oklahoma. In a move that will begin to establish a circular and domestic supply chain for the powerful magnets used in electric vehicle motors, USA Rare Earth LLC has signed a deal to buy ultra-pure rare earth elements (REE) produced from ReElement Technologies Corp.'s state-of-the-art rare earths and battery metals refining facility in Indiana. "We are thrilled to be working...

Mary and Gary Freeman posing for a picture on their excavation site.

A bit deeper into Maine lithium motherlode

K. Warner, Metal Tech News | Mar 12, 2024

New rules would allow the testing needed to build an open-pit mine over the largest hard rock lithium deposit in the U.S. In a unanimous vote, the Board of Environmental Protection has amended Maine's prohibitive mining rules to allow for open-pit excavation of certain clean energy metals. The provisional amendment, still under final consideration, is the refinement of a state law adopted last July intended to restrict mining and processing resources containing polluting...

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