Fleet Space has announced a series of partnerships with mDetect, Nomad Atomics and DeteQt to, it says, expand the technology frontier of the global mining industry by developing the next generation of sensors needed to fuel the growth of AI-powered mineral exploration.

With these partnerships, Fleet Space will advance the acquisition and processing speed of geophysical datasets and build an innovation path for muon tomography to become a valuable input for enhancing the geological predictions of modern AI systems, it states.

As part of Fleet Space’s expansion of its vertically integrated ExoSphere platform, the company is advancing exploration technology development with tech startups and academic institutions like Stanford’s Mineral-X and MIT’s Space Exploration Initiative to enhance efficiency, speed and precision across the mineral value chain on Earth and beyond.

“To improve exploration agility and time to discovery, the global mining industry is reconfiguring their exploration toolkit with satellites, real-time multiphysics ground sensors and AI to drive rapid, non-invasive and data-driven exploration at scale,” Fleet Space says. “Using ExoSphere, Rio Tinto, Barrick, BHP and Gold Fields have accelerated exploration and unlocked geological insights at key projects worldwide. Maaden, as part of a multi-year contract, will deploy ExoSphere across 12,000 sq.km of the Arabian Shield, combining 3D subsurface imaging data up to 7 km in depth with Fleet Space’s AI-enabled drill targeting to develop Saudi Arabia’s $2.5 trillion mineral asset portfolio.”

Fleet Space’s partnerships with mDetect, Nomad Atomics and DeteQt represent a new landscape of Australian-led advanced technology partnerships to build sovereign capabilities that strengthen mineral supply chain resilience, enabling mining companies to explore and enhance production by equipping their field teams with more sustainable, low-impact, space-enabled exploration technologies and AI, it says.

Outlined below are each partner’s unique capabilities, and the potential applications Fleet Space will pursue as part of its continued expansion of ExoSphere:

• mDetect: mDetect specialises in muon tomography, a passive imaging technique that utilises naturally occurring particles from space known as muons to create 3D density maps of the subsurface. This capability provides deep, high-resolution information that has promising applications in mineral exploration and drill targeting. Enabling exploration teams to “see through” significant overburden and challenging geology, muon tomography complements shallower geophysical methods and enhances AI’s ability to model deep-seated mineral systems without extensive drilling or ground disturbance;
• Nomad Atomics: Nomad Atomics is pioneering the development of high-precision quantum gravimeters and accelerometers. Its technology leverages atomic physics to deliver drift-free, stable and sensitive measurements. This quantum-level precision will generate ultrafine resolution gravity data to inform data-driven exploration strategies and improve the predictive outputs of Fleet Space’s AI, enabling highly accurate and precise detection of density contrasts and providing a valuable input for AI analysis of orebodies and controlling structures, the company claims. By removing the need for a base station and drift corrections, these instruments can generate accurate absolute gravity maps in real-time, enabling dynamic adjustments to the array on-the-fly; and
• DeteQt: DeteQt is revolutionising the field with its patented ‘diamond-on-chip ‘ quantum magnetometers. These remarkably sensitive, portable sensors detect vector magnetic fields with extreme precision, and can be manufactured and deployed at scale for widespread use in field operations. Integrated into Fleet Space’s low-impact, real-time magnetotelluric solution, these compact devices could enable the generation of 3D subsurface conductivity models with minimal ground disturbance and minimal digging required.

Dr Gerrit Olivier, Chief Scientist at Fleet Space, said: “By partnering with global leaders in quantum gravimetry and magnetometry, we’re bringing laboratory-grade precision into a handheld package. These sensors deliver extreme precision and stability in the field, letting crews collect higher-fidelity gravity and magnetic data with fewer stations, lighter logistics and far simpler CONOPS. When we fuse these quantum measurements with passive muon tomography, seismic imaging and conventional gravity data inside our joint-inversion framework, we obtain an unprecedented 3D picture of the subsurface, from regional reconnaissance right down to drill-ready targets.

“The same toolkit is being readied for off-planet prospecting. Compact quantum sensors and muon detectors will fly on upcoming asteroid-scout missions, allowing humanity to map the interior structure and resource potential of metal-rich bodies that were impossible to reach until recently. Whether on Earth or in deep space, the combination of high-fidelity physics and continuously learning AI is redefining how quickly and sustainably we can locate the critical minerals that power the global energy transition.”

This slate of new partnerships follows Fleet Space’s recent acquisition of a leading provider of active seismic solutions for hard-rock mineral exploration, HiSeis.