Aurus Capital and Caterpillar Venture Capital led a US$19m investment in MineSense Technologies, a data analytics company that services the mining industry. Chrsyalix Venture Capital, Cycle Capital Management, Prelude Ventures and Export Development Canada (EDC) also participated in the round.

(Canadian Mining Journal) MineSense Technologies a company that provides data analytics systems for the mining industry, has closed a $19-million financing. The round was led by Aurus Ventures and included Caterpillar Venture Capital, the venture investment arm of the mining equipment giant, as well as participation from existing investors Chrysalix Venture Capital, Cycle Capital Management, Prelude Ventures and Export Development Canada (EDC).

MineSense CEO Jeff More.
“Aurus will bring an international view and a window into the important Chilean market,” said Jeff More, CEO of MineSense. “And having a major player like Caterpillar as a new strategic investor provides a strong partner with global reach. We are also thrilled to have the continued support of our existing investors.”

“MineSense has developed ground-breaking sensor technology and a data analytics software platform that will provide mining operations with real-time information about their orebody not previously available. This has a significant impact on both the mines’ productivity and environmental footprint,” said Victor Aguilera, managing director of Aurus. “This is one of the most exciting new technologies to come into the mining sector with the potential of significantly improving the industry’s profitability.”

“Ore grade control has a significant impact on revenue for mining companies. The goal of Caterpillar’s relationship with MineSense is to take our customers’ grade control to the next level,” said Jim Hawkins, managing director of mining technology for Caterpillar. “MineSense’s technology improves ore-waste classification to optimize value. This investment is another example of Caterpillar’s focus on bringing new technology to mining.”

The MineSense system integrates directly into existing mining shovels and conveyers to provide real-time information that enables ore sorting and enhances mine planning. Through recent field trials, MineSense has demonstrated that its technology platform can improve the bottom line at a single mine by US$20 to US$200m annually.

MineSense, a British Columbia-based company recently named to the Global Cleantech 100, is a pioneer in industrial internet-of-things (IoT) providing real-time, sensor-based ore sorting solutions for large scale mines. The company’s fast, scalable, and robust mineral sensing platform creates transformational value by providing precise, accurate, real-time grade control and ore routing decisions at the point of extraction for maximum resource conversion and metal recovery, reducing the carbon dioxide emissions and the consumption of wear materials, energy, water and reagents during the whole mining process. By optimizing current practices this way, MineSense can improve a mining company’s bottom line and overall sustainability.