Exclusive: AI helps uncover metals in Australia critical for clean energy
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Chunks of palladium. Photo: RHJ/Getty Images
A company using artificial intelligence-driven methods announced a significantly expanded find of a large deposit of palladium, platinum and nickel in southeastern Australia, the company's founder first told Axios on Thursday.
Why it matters: Palladium and other related metals are vital to the transition to cleaner energy technologies, with uses in catalytic converters, hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels.
Zoom in: The find could make it the largest such discovery in Australia to date, Earth AI's CEO and founder Roman Teslyuk told Axios.
- Earth AI, founded in 2017, uses AI technology drawing from geophysical and other data to predict where valuable deposits of certain minerals may be found.
- This is an expansion of the company's second find and its third attempt to locate valuable metal and mineral deposits, including in largely unexplored areas, Teslyuk said.
- Earth AI owns its drilling technology, which allows it to have a lower environmental footprint, reduced costs and cut time when drilling exploratory holes to verify mineral deposits.
He said the company was able to spend under $300,000 to make the find, from making the predictions of where valuable metals might be located to conducting the exploratory drilling.
- This makes the AI-driven approach far cheaper than more conventional mining companies that tend to explore sites close to already operational mines.
- "We can afford to fail several times before we succeed, and it doesn't really affect our costs as much," he said.
Yes, but: The discovery itself doesn't mean the deposit will be profitably mined.
- Market conditions, the cost of accessing minerals and then getting them to the global market play roles in such a decision.
The intrigue: The expansion of the earlier discovery in southwestern New South Wales, near Wombat, is located at a site known as the Fontenoy Project.
- It was made in conjunction with Legacy Minerals, which is a base-metal projects exploration company.
- At about 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, or 1.2 miles by 1.2 miles, Earth AI says this expansion could make it one of the largest platinum group elements prospects globally.
- Russia and South Africa are the two largest producers of palladium. But Russian exports may be subject to sanctions tied to its invasion of Ukraine, while South Africa's palladium mines are increasingly expensive, Teslyuk said.
- He said not enough newly discovered deposits are in the global pipeline for a range of much-needed metals, minerals and rare earths. His company is playing a role in seeking out new supplies in unexplored locations.
Ten years ago, about 150 new metal and mineral deposits were being discovered annually around the world, he said. Now, though, with much higher demand, that number is down to about 45 per year.
Zoom out: The U.S. and other countries are going to great lengths to secure a greater supply of valuable metals and minerals needed to power the clean energy economy, from EV batteries to wind turbines and solar panels.
- A recent International Energy Agency analysis found that while supplies of critical minerals have so far outpaced demand, meeting the Paris Agreement's climate targets would require a steep increase in production.
- That report noted increasingly vulnerable supply chains and the need to find new sources outside of countries such as China.
What we're watching: How much this site in Australia expands even further with ongoing exploratory drilling, and whether it spurs the increased use of AI methods in the mining industry.
