Tag Archives: Southern Innovation

Southern Innovation set for exploration scanning, ore sensing growth with Russell appointment

Base metals, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mining people, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Southern Innovation, a developer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art real-time materials analysis equipment for the global mining industry, says it has taken a strategic step forward in sales and marketing with the appointment of Steve Russell as Head of Sales and Business Development.

Russell, currently Director of Mining at Scott Automation & Robotics, joins the Southern Innovation team in mid-January 2022 in a role that is expected to drive growth in the company’s key areas of rig-mounted exploration scanners and conveyor-mounted ore sensing/scanning, especially in bulk ores, and looking to near-term applications in base and precious metals.

An engineering professional with a strong background in mining as well as sales and marketing, Russell has previously driven several step-change innovation and automation strategies in the mining industry, according to Southern Innovation.

Southern Innovation, Managing Director David Scoullar, said this appointment will drive strategic growth that has been in the planning stage for a considerable time.

“Southern Innovation has a solid and conservative business base, built off a unique foundation of robust, patient and home-grown development of much-sought-after signal processing technology,” he said. “We have worked closely with some of the most respected and sizeable international mining companies in R&D, and we are now confidently transitioning to grow product sales.

“Our clear objective is to help our customers to improve productivity as well as reduce waste in minerals identification, extraction and processing as the industry drives to net zero emissions by 2050.”

Southern Innovation’s key proprietary products are known as DrillScan™ and GradeScan™.

DrillScan (pictured above, working in the Pilbara of Western Australia) was developed in close collaboration with BHP and is an X-ray Transmission scanner that bolts onto the drill chain of RC drill rigs, performing accurate and continuous analysis while drilling. Results from field use demonstrate more than 95% correlation between continuous, real-time analysis and post-drilling XRF lab-based grade analysis of contemporaneous samples, according to the company.

GradeScan™, meanwhile, is an online, real-time conveyor-mounted X-ray scanner capable of characterising sampled bulk ore in real time at 1 mm resolution across multiple dimensions, according to the company. It features full spectrum scanning, enabled by Southern Innovation’s patented digital signal processing technology, SITORO® Accelerated Analysis.

Southern Innovation extends minerals analysis agreement with BHP

Base metals, Energy minerals, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Technology company Southern Innovation says it has entered into a multi-year collaboration agreement with BHP to further research applications of the METS company’s radiation-based minerals analysis technology.

Under the agreement Southern Innovation will provide BHP with technical expertise to uncover solutions to specific challenges BHP faces in mineral exploration and extraction, the company said.

Southern Innovation and BHP have worked together since late 2015 to develop and commercialise technology to improve the performance of radiation-based analysis in mining applications, using a complex signal-processing algorithm developed by Southern Innovation Founder Paul Scoullar at The University of Melbourne.

BHP Vice President of Technology Global Transformation, Rag Udd, said: “Our continuing engagement with the METS sector ensures that our industry successfully adapts to technological change while creating and sustaining global technological and skills leadership in key areas of mining and our supply chain.

“An internationally competitive, appropriately skilled and innovative METS sector is critical to help maintain Australia’s leading position in the global resources sector.”

Southern Innovation’s CEO and Managing Director, David Scoullar, said: “We are delighted to formalise our ongoing relationship with BHP to further research applications of our radiation-based minerals analysis technology to meet challenges across BHP’s domestic and international commodity portfolio.

“Our engagement with BHP over the last three years has successfully developed new-to-world METS technology and products in Australia and enabled us to double our workforce. With this new research and ongoing product development work, we will be adding even more employees dedicated to this task with a view to redoubling our workforce over two years.”

Industry body for the METS sector, Austmine, has been supporting Southern Innovation since 2015 through the Australian Technologies Competition and the Accelerating Commercialisation Program with the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, and more recently with grant funding via the Entrepreneurs’ Programme.

Austmine CEO, Christine Gibbs Stewart, said: “It’s critically important that emerging METS companies can access customers, funding, expertise and networks to enable the development and commercialisation of disruptive technologies in the METS sector.

“Southern Innovation is a great example of how small, agile innovators can help big businesses like BHP solve previously intractable challenges.”