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Satellite subscription service for miners

Metal Tech News - April 18, 2024

Hypervine launches a service that allows users to receive unlimited satellite surveys and reports for a low monthly fee.

From gaining a detailed overhead view of the predevelopment landscape to grabbing a snapshot of current conditions and monitoring changes over time, satellite imagery is revolutionizing the planning and operations of modern mines. However, the cost for a satellite to take a snapshot of a mine can be high, and many traditional technologies cannot image the ground during bad weather or at night.

Scotland-based Hypervine now offers a solution that overcomes both limitations to the traditional satellite surveys available to the mining sector.

On April 18, the cleantech business specializing in satellite imagery and data analytics launched a subscription service that allows users to receive unlimited satellite surveys for 4,750 British pounds (US$5,900) per month, which is less than the up to 5,000 pounds (US$6,225) it can cost for a single satellite survey.

The data for Hypervine surveys – sourced from the European Space Agency, NASA, and others – offers mining and mineral exploration companies, investors, mining firms, insurers, and more unparalleled insights into what is happening in and around mining operations, no matter where they are found.

Paul Duddy

"Our unlimited satellite survey service is a game-changer for investors and the mining industry," said Hypervine CEO Paul Duddy.

In addition to providing satellite imagery with a level of detail previously impossible without physical site visits, Hypervine's unlimited plan includes comprehensive reports on ferrous metal content, land surface temperature changes, vegetation indexes, and other key indicators.

These reports, which leverage the company's extensive base metals database, offer investors, stakeholders, and companies a means of monitoring mining operations. This kind of access to satellite data is not only more affordable than traditional survey methods but also provides medium to large companies with critical data to make informed decisions far faster than traditional on-site data-gathering methods.

"By offering detailed, accurate, and timely data at a fixed monthly cost, we are opening up new possibilities for how assets are monitored, managed, and invested in," said Duddy.

A clear picture, delivered

Satellites delivering data to Hypervine use InSAR, short for interferometric synthetic aperture radar, to scan the ground. This imaging technique, which is similar to lidar, is so precise that it can detect ground differences of one to two millimeters. The radar waves can also penetrate most weather clouds and InSAR is even effective during the dark of night.

These advantages are why the U.S. Geological Survey uses InSAR to monitor volcanoes, especially during a crisis.

Hypervine

An InSAR survey taken by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1A satellite of the Toromocho copper mine in Peru.

This same high-precision data that can be collected at any time of day during most any weather condition can detect subtle changes in infrastructure such as buildings, roads, or bridges; monitor for slight movement in mining pit walls and tailings dams; as well as accurate monitoring of mining pits, tailings ponds, stockpiles, and other site conditions.

Hypervine says its unlimited satellite service simplifies and reveals information previously inaccessible due to the complex nature of processing satellite data and the expense of it.

Stakeholders and investors in a mine's output will have a clearer understanding of what is happening with the mine and will have the ability to compare mines directly, thanks to the standardized reporting satellite data offers.

The company says its subscription satellite service is perfectly positioned to deliver valuable data to investors, environmental groups, data firms, and mining companies at a time when the world is demanding enormous new supplies of metals needed for the clean energy transition.

"This service is a testament to our commitment to innovation and our belief in the power of satellite technology to drive data-backed decision making," said Duddy.

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News

Author photo

With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.

 

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