How AI and Advanced Tech are Reshaping Mineral Exploration

How can emerging technologies such as AI assist with the search for critical minerals in underexplored regions?  

Across regions like the Laramide Belt in Arizona and New Mexico, explorers are working across large areas where many geological domains remain poorly examined. This scale makes it essential to use technologies that can organise, compare and interpret information far more efficiently than traditional methods alone.  

To support this, we bring our highly-tailored spectral processing service, Bare Earth Plus, together with hyperspectral and multiphysics datasets to build our Southeast Arizona Data Library – the first of its kind in the region. Instead of handling each dataset separately, this approach builds a consistent regional framework that AI and machine-learning tools can analyse. These tools help reveal relationships, subtle changes in geology and patterns that guide attention toward areas that warrant closer investigation.  

Our unique combination of geoscientists, data specialists and high-performance compute capability allows us to work through these large datasets quickly and present what matters in a clear, usable form. 

We also use AI to organise historical and unstructured information from sources such as scanned reports, old logs and non-standard files meaning valuable observations from past work can be incorporated into modern exploration thinking. Unused historic data means wasted investments. 

In summary, AI helps explorers work through larger regions more systematically, compare more data types and progress toward new critical-mineral opportunities with greater clarity. It is not a replacement for geoscientific expertise; it is a tool that strengthens it by highlighting patterns sooner and allowing specialists to concentrate on interpreting the geology rather than searching for the data. 

How does Viridien apply seismic technology to accelerate geological understanding in complex environments? 

As exploration shifts toward deeper and more structurally complex environments, technology becomes essential for reducing uncertainty and maintaining efficiency. Most shallow, easy-to-identify deposits have been discovered, meaning future exploration requires deeper drilling, higher costs and a much greater risk of boreholes failing to intersect the target.

This is where Viridien’s approach departs from traditional hard-rock seismic workflows. Mining clients are increasingly expanding the use of their existing seismic data and commissioning larger, high-resolution surveys because they see the advantages of more advanced imaging using the very latest technologies. Conventional seismic imaging used in mining is often insufficient for complex geology, but Viridien’s experience – supported by our industry-leading toolbox and global leadership in full-waveform inversion (FWI) – allows us to extract far more value from the same datasets. Our technology improves subsurface definition, helping teams understand geometry earlier, plan drilling more confidently and ultimately accelerate exploration schedules. 

This differentiation is reinforced by results from our recent collaborations with major mining companies. Over the past several years, we have used 3D seismic to improve ore-body knowledge across multiple projects, demonstrating the added value of high-end imaging in hard-rock settings. In one recent Australian project, our team applied proprietary FWI algorithms to a sparse seismic survey. This not only resolved the top of the deposit but also provided a high-resolution image of the ore body between boreholes, detail that conventional methods could not achieve.  

By revealing structural controls, continuity and geometry with this level of clarity, the technology materially reduces drilling uncertainty and supports better decision-making as holes extend beyond 1,000 metres. Bringing these advanced, physics-driven workflows into mining provides a faster, more precise pathway to discovery in the world’s most challenging geological environments. 

How can mining companies unlock new insights from historic data?  

A major part of our work lies in prospect generation, where we bring together diverse regional datasets, prepare them for analysis and apply advanced methods that reveal relationships and trends not visible in raw or inconsistent information. This is increasingly important because a large amount of geological insight remains buried in historic and unstructured datasets such as scanned reports, handwritten logs, legacy spreadsheets and mixed geotechnical files. When this material cannot be accessed or reconciled, earlier exploration effort contributes little to current decision-making. 

Advanced analytical tools like AI now make it possible to convert these archives into structured datasets that can be integrated into modern workflows. Through our Data Hub data transformation services, we help mining companies organise and standardise this information so that observations captured decades ago can contribute directly to present-day geological interpretation and planning. 

Viridien’s Data Hub experts apply AI-supported classification, extraction and quality-control methods to automate work that would otherwise require significant manual effort. The resulting datasets, which are structured, consistent and ready for interpretation, are delivered into dashboards, relational databases or platforms such as the Open Subsurface Data Universe (OSDU).

Viridien’s Evergreen Data Solution combines deep domain expertise with advanced AI technologies to bring order and continuity to the complex data landscape of subsurface while seamlessly integrating with the OSDU platform. These dependable data pipelines support exploration, operational and closure-related decisions and ultimately strengthen the impact of Viridien’s broader imaging and monitoring solutions by ensuring subsurface work begins with reliable input data. 

Built on years of hands-on experience in delivering subsurface data transformation projects, the Evergreen Data Solution continuously keeps subsurface data transformed, enriched and reliable across sources, preventing fragmentation as new data arrives. As the solution is fully orchestrated and runs independently, organisations can scale data readiness without adding operational burden. The result is a data foundation that remains consistent, usable and compliant with OSDU standards over time, rather than slipping back into disorder after each transformation effort.

How can technology play a part in enhancing safety and efficiency in mining?  

Modern mining increasingly depends on technologies that improve situational awareness, reduce exposure to hazards and support clearer decision-making in rapidly changing environments. 

Remote sensing plays a significant role here. Satellite-derived information can be used to track ground deformation, monitor slope stability and observe movement across both active and legacy sites without putting personnel in harm’s way. These same data sources support day-to-day operational needs such as topographic change detection, tailings facility oversight and stockpile volume assessments, reducing the amount of manual surveying required. They also help identify early indications of ground movement and emerging geohazards, allowing operational teams to take action before issues escalate. This information is delivered through our SatExplorer platform as an integrated dataset that extends awareness from the mine face to the surrounding region. 

At the mine scale, near-surface seismic imaging provides another level of safety and efficiency. Viridien’s seismic equipment and acquisition optimisation solutions help drive safer and more efficient mining operations. Our Sercel S-Scan solution uses advanced two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic techniques to image the upper 150 metres of the subsurface, supporting early detection of cavities, sinkholes, weak zones and other features that may compromise stability. These data also inform hardness and blastability estimates through rock-physics-based modelling, helping engineers refine blasting programmes and manage fragmentation more predictably. 

A range of deployment options, including autonomous rovers, land streamers and fibre-optic systems, allows the technology to be used in challenging locations while keeping personnel away from high-risk areas. Results are delivered through standard mining software or platforms such as iSite Central®, a Geocomp web-based, real-time, automated instrument monitoring system, enabling rapid interpretation and better operational decisions.

Technology is also reshaping how geological information is captured at the face. Our Geolucent geological machine vision system is designed to deliver clear geological intelligence in environments where visibility is limited, such as underground headings, night-time pit operations or areas requiring strict standoff distances. By combining hyperspectral and LiDAR measurements with edge computing, it produces detailed boundaries, mineral and alteration maps, ore–waste indicators and hazard markers within minutes. This reduces on-face exposure for geologists and strata control teams, while providing more consistent and objective geological information. The workflow can also be scaled across core scanning, drone surveys and satellite observations, ensuring consistent geological understanding from the bench to the region.