The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - July 18, 2025
Aerial view of the Reko Diq copper-gold mine project in Pakistan.
A 3D image of the subsurface geology across a roughly 11-mile-wide area at Reko Diq.
Reko Diq Mining Company completed five overlapping ExoSphere surveys.
A high-resolution 3D image produced with a more detailed ExoSphere survey over the H15.
Fleet Space Technologies' satellite-enabled and AI-powered ExoSphere mineral exploration platform is playing a crucial role in the development of Reko Diq – a world-class mine project poised to be transformational for Barrick Mining and the Pakistani economy.
Being developed by Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) – a joint venture owned and operated by Barrick (50%), three state-owned enterprises (25%), and the provincial government of Balochistan (25%) – Reko Diq is expected to produce roughly 660 million pounds of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold annually during phase-one operations, and more than 1 billion lb of copper and 400,000 oz of gold per year following the phase-two expansion.
The deposits already outlined will support a mine of this scale for 37 years.
While Reko Diq is already considered to be one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects on Earth, the deposits outlined there represent only a small portion of the potential that lies hidden below the sand in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
To gain a better understanding of the geology and copper potential at Reko Diq, Barrick deployed Fleet Space's ExoSphere geophysics technology in 2024 to generate 3D maps of the geology below the 445-square-mile (1,150 square kilometers) project.
The ExoSphere surveys have provided Barrick with detailed insights into the subsurface geology at Reko Diq, which will aid in mining the orebody already outlined and in exploration to expand the already world-class project.
A 3D image of the subsurface geology across a roughly 11-mile-wide area at Reko Diq.
Fleet Space's ExoSphere platform utilizes special wireless sensors called Geodes, which can image subsurface rock formations by detecting naturally occurring geophysical signals that reflect off them. The process is similar to how X-ray or MRI scans image the inside of a human body.
The surveys at Reko Diq used a geophysical technique known as ambient noise tomography (ANT), a passive form of seismic surveying that utilizes the Earth's natural background vibrations to image the subsurface.
Reko Diq Mining Company completed five overlapping ExoSphere surveys.
Utilizing 100 Fleet Space Geodes, RDMC initiated its ExoSphere survey at Reko Diq with two roughly 100-square-kilometer (39 square miles) grids, with each sensor placed around 100 meters apart.
To sharpen resolution, the company conducted two additional infill surveys with 500-meter spacing, followed by a fifth and final survey at 250-meter spacing over the core mineralized zones.
The ANT geophysical data collected from all five surveys was partially processed with edge-computing built into each Geode before being beamed to the cloud via Fleet Space's array of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. From there, the data is processed with Fleet Space AI tools optimized for mineral exploration.
The resulting data and 3D subsurface maps generated by the Reko Diq surveys are providing Barrick and its partners with valuable insights into the buried geological structures responsible for the world-class deposits of copper and gold at the Pakistani project.
A high-resolution 3D image produced with a more detailed ExoSphere survey over the H15.
The insights gained from the ExoSphere survey include:
• Identification of key geological structures: These regional structures provide valuable information for understanding the structural framework controlling mineralization.
• Discovery of potential alteration zones: These potential zones of alteration, areas where the rock has been altered by mineral-rich hydrothermal fluids surrounding the targeted porphyry systems, lead to a better understanding of the mineralization.
• Delineation of high-velocity zones: High-velocity zones within the models correspond to known porphyry targets, providing a geophysical signature for potentially higher-grade mineralized feeder zones.
• Estimation of underlying batholith depth: The regional velocity model provided an estimation of the depth to the underlying batholith – crystalline magma bodies that are the source of fluids that mineralize porphyry copper-gold deposits – a critical factor in understanding the magmatic evolution of the porphyry complex at Reko Diq.
• Identification of structural lineaments: These subsurface linear features identified by the ExoSphere survey may represent fault zones or other structural discontinuities that could have influenced fluid flow and mineralization.
During a call to analysts and shareholders earlier this month, Barrick executives said RDMC's exploration has led to a new discovery at Reko Diq.
The discoveries and detailed subsurface insights provided by Fleet Space's ExoSphere technology are likely to play a vital role in ensuring Reko Diq becomes a major global supplier of copper and a significant contributor to the Pakistani government for generations to come.
With development underway, Barrick anticipates Reko Diq will begin production by 2028.
With more than 17 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration, and technology metals.
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