Prospect
Mining Studio

Unearthing a more sustainable future
for metals & minerals mining.
Apply now
Prospect Mining Studio is a first-of-its-kind platform for Applied Innovation and Investment across the metals and minerals mining value chain. We are focused on solving critical challenges for the production, supply and use of bulk and critical ores and metals, while advancing global energy and carbon reduction goals. A catalyst for change in the industry, the Studio is a partnership between Vimson Group, a leading Indian mining conglomerate, and Newlab, a center for invention.

Prospect Mining Studio convenes key stakeholders across mining and adjacent industries to build, pilot, and scale transformational technologies against critical challenges and opportunity spaces.

We look to mobilize innovators, industry partners, investors, academics, and the public sector through collaboration, technology validation, and investment.
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Corporations, governments, and investors all play a vital role in the success and impact of our innovation studios. Joining the Prospect Mining Studio is a unique avenue to collaborate with top entrepreneurs, access real-time research and prototyping facilities, and solve your most pressing business challenges.

Interested in partnering with Prospect Mining Studio? Sign up to learn more
Join Our Studio

We are actively looking for technologists and startups to apply to join Prospect Mining Studio.

Applying to be a part of our Studio allows the team to systematically engage with technology companies that are building solutions that can be applied to the metals and minerals mining industry. With an initial understanding of your technology solutions through the submission, Prospect Mining Studio will be able to design tailored support plans for selected companies focused on technology development, strategic connectivity within the industry, and investment.

Prospect Mining Studio and its industry advisors will review submissions monthly and invite companies soon thereafter to engage with the Studio team. Our team will be offering introductory calls to answer any questions regarding the Studio, our missions, and focus areas.

Sign up to schedule time to speak with Prospect Mining Studio’s Director of Applied Innovation, Sahil Jain and learn more.
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Focus Areas

There are opportunities to change, evolve and disrupt the entire metals and minerals value chain. The Studio’s three themes are described below with some illustrative examples of industry focus areas and technology needs that we are looking to address. The areas listed under the Studio themes are not exhaustive.

If you are developing a technology that increases the supply of ores and metals, promotes sustainability and energy efficiency in mining, or reimagines the use of metals and minerals, we want to collaborate with you.

Material Supply

Enabling the production and supply of metals from primary and secondary resources


Resource discovery and ore characterization

Metals recovery and recycling from tailings,
e-Waste, water and other secondary resources

Metal extraction techniques (e.g. DLE, biological
in-situ leaching, etc.)

Material Sustainability

Reducing lifecycle emissions, energy and water consumption, and remediating the environmental impacts of mining

Decarbonizing iron ore and steel production

Alternative energy propulsion systems & electrification for heavy duty equipment

Soil biome restoration

Material Co-development

Co-creating novel and diverse market applications for metals beyond traditional use-cases

Energy storage chemistries, including cathode/anode materials or manufacturing techniques

Nano-materials for magnets

Novel electrolysis and fuel cell catalysts

Who Should Apply?

If you are a technology company developing novel innovation and science that can address the opportunities above, we want to hear from you. We are open to working with technologies at any stage and encourage companies from adjacent industries to apply.

Prospect Mining Studio team will work closely to help companies enter and scale in the mining industry. This will include developing technical requirements and understanding the conditions of the mining environment for companies in adjacent markets. We co-develop relevant use-cases, based on mining needs, to help companies realize the potential to expand their technology in the mining sector.

We work closely with startups to design pilot projects and accelerate customer acquisition. Prospect Mining Studio can connect teams to potential partners based on commercialization progress, business model and go-to-market strategy.

Applicants will benefit from Prospect Mining Studio’s deep industry knowledge. Our advisors have active mining experience and can provide unique intelligence around operational scenarios and potential for technology scale-up and integration within a mine.

Benefits

Teams that are invited to join the Prospect Mining Studio will receive targeted support to accelerate their technological development and market fit. Prospect Mining Studio does not take any equity from startups to engage in the Studio. Teams will receive:

Access to mining experts

Engage with Vimson, Newlab, our bench of industry experts to consult on technology, relevant and new use-cases, go-to-market strategies, and customer acquisition

  • Access on-demand experts with a diverse range of technical and functional expertise
  • Tap into Prospect’s extended network to solicit additional perspectives on technology scalability and pilot project opportunities

Consideration for investment

Receive consideration for equity investments, non-dilutive pilot grants, and support to go after public funding opportunities based on fundraising needs and strategic priorities

  • Connect with Prospect’s investment team and/or receive referrals to other investors in our network
  • Influence Prospect’s approach to public funding opportunities and join Newlab-led coalitions to secure non-dilutive capital

Features in published content

Garner exposure through centralized thought leadership that the Studio platform will amplify through its network to drive innovation activity across key areas

  • Co-author thought a leadership piece, in partnership with Prospect Mining Studio, that represents a unique perspective on a topic of mutual focus within mining (e.g. through WEF, IMM, etc.)
  • Feature in a whitepaper or other Prospect Mining Studio-led content that will be leveraged as a call to action for additional partners and/or projects

Invitations to hosted events

Gain access to and participate in regular Studio and external events, and periodic webinars to influence and shape the innovation agenda for mining

  • Join the Prospect Mining Studio annual symposium and actively engage with relevant capital providers, commercial partners, and/or government entities
  • Participate in other periodic events that convene smaller groups of Prospect Mining Studio stakeholders for targeted engagement



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About Vimson Group

Founded over seventy years ago in Goa, Vimson owns and operates one of India’s oldest iron ore mining companies, responsibly transforming natural resources into prosperity for the entire community. Their operations comprise of an integrated value chain that includes exploration, excavation, ore screening and processing, and multi-modal transportation. Vimson Group has several successful ventures in Mining, Trading, Financial Services, and Real Estate Development.

2021 Cohort
Pitcrew AI
Newcastle, Australia

Providing artificial intelligence-driven predictive analytics and condition monitoring for heavy vehicles and equipment.

SBQuantum
Sherbrooke, Canada

Developing diamond-based quantum sensors with vectorial capabilities for mineral exploration, infrastructure inspection, space, and defense.

Muon Vision
Cambridge, USA

Leveraging a transformative, deeply-penetrating X-ray technology to boost the throughput, sustainability, and safety of mineral processing, steel-making, and industrial processes.

Electramet
Lexington, USA

Developing targeted solutions for sustainable water treatment and turning waste into an asset.

SafeAI
San Francisco, USA

Offering bespoke, aftermarket solutions designed to work with any software system while enabling autonomous workflows in the mining and construction industries.

Cemvita Factory
Houston, USA

Applying synthetic biology to enhance the kinetics and resilience of biomining microbes from preconditioning of rock, to extraction of metals, and recycling and remediation.

Impulstec GmbH
Radebeul, Germany

Developing and constructing an industrial shock-wave system for material fragmentation and recycling applications.

rad.Data
Potsdam, Germany

Using cloud-based spectral imaging to unveil mineralogical information for machine automation, decision-making, and process control.

Earth Alive Clean Technologies
Montreal, Canada

Developing and distributing environmentally-sound microbial products that resolve some of the greatest sustainability challenges currently faced in the mining, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.

Broadbit Batteries
Espoo, Finland

Developing revolutionary new batteries using novel sodium-based chemistries to power the future green economy.

Quidnet Energy
Houston, USA

Developing an alternative approach to energy storage by storing water to deliver energy from intermittent renewable resources such as solar and wind.

Talpasolutions
Essen, Germany

Helping machine manufacturers and operators make better and faster decisions by offering data-based, reliable, and actionable insights that can be integrated into daily workflows.

2020 Cohort
Allied Microbiota
Stonybrook, NY

Identifying beneficial microbes and their enzymes to create sustainable bio-chemicals.

Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT)
Calgary, Alberta

Converting CO2 emissions from power plants into exfoliated inorganic solids.

CyanoGuardAG
Zurich, Switzerland

Combining chemical-sensing technology and cloud-based data solutions to enable monitoring and optimization of cyanide usage in gold leaching processes.

Exyn Technologies
Philadelphia, PA

Using autonomous aerial robot systems (UAVs) to gather data in complex, GPS-denied industrial environments.

Innocule
Bhubaneswar, India

Developing proprietary additives for dispersants, dewatering aids, flow aids, and grinding aids to reduce ore-processing costs.

LexSet
Brooklyn, NY

Generating photo-realistic synthetic data to enhance Vision AI models and create limitless amounts of on-demand training.

Lixivia, Inc
Santa Barbara, CA

Using hydrometallurgical technology to refine mineral mixtures including low-grade lime, dolime, steel and iron slag, rare earth metals, and lithium.

LlamaZOO Interactive
Vancouver, BC

Deploying a spatial business intelligence platform to consolidate and visualize organization-wide data in the context of real-world locations.

Novamera, Inc
Toronto, Ontario

Using directional drilling equipment and advanced imaging technology to develop a precise excavation technique that’s sustainable, safe, and economical.

Objectivity
Sudbury, Ontario

Developing A.I. algorithms to improve the efficiency of resource conversion drilling during pre-production activity.

OneWatt
Arnhem, Netherlands

Applying predictive A.I. and Embedded Acoustic Recognition Sensors (EARS) to detect faults in industrial equipment.

Phoenix Tailings
Woburn, MA

Offering an end-to-end, zero-carbon solution for sustainable harvesting of valuable metals from hazardous mining waste.

Pliant Energy Systems
Brooklyn, NY

Conceptualizing, patenting, and developing new technologies in marine robotics, propulsion, electricity generation, and pumping.

RIO Analytics
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Developing A.I.-infused and industrial analytics applications to predict failures of industrial assets.

Tomahawk Robotics
Melbourne, FL

Developing multi-domain robotic control solutions serving security and defense, energy, infrastructure, and assistive robotics markets.

Studio news and updates

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