Fleet Space pioneers multiphysics exploration

Fleet Space Australia has launched ExoSphere MT as part of its AI-powered mineral exploration platform ExoSphere.

Featuring next-generation magnetotellurics (MT), ambient noise tomography (ANT), active seismic and gravity surveys, the platform enables companies to acquire, process and integrate high-resolution 3D exploration data into AI-powered insights.

MT is a passive geophysical method that uses naturally occurring variations in the Earth’s electromagnetic (EM) fields — produced by solar winds and thunderstorms — to measure the electrical resistivity and conductivity of subsurface materials.

Uniquely suited to image crustal structures, fluid pathways and alteration zones, MT has proved to be a valuable technique for enhancing orebody knowledge and greenfield exploration. It is particularly useful in underexplored regions with limited historical data.

Despite its ability to detect conductive minerals MT has historically seen limited deployment at scale due to its labour-intensive setup and slow data processing times.

Fleet Space’s real-time MT solution eliminates these obstacles and makes the technology more accessible.

MT data supports detection of conductive minerals such as sulfides, key for targeting copper and other commodities. Combined with Fleet Space’s other multiphysics datasets, MT enhances imaging of mineralogy.

Fleet Space founder and chief executive Flavia Tata Nardini says the company is building the next generation of space-enabled exploration technologies to support the global mineral value chain’s evolution into a new data-driven paradigm.

“To enhance AI predictions for mineral exploration at scale, the global mining industry needs high-quality, standardised and real-time datasets that are compatible with modern AI systems to unlock more accurate targeting insights, simplify exploration workflows and enable agile, data-driven decision-making in the field,” she said.

Hillgrove Resources (ASX: HGO) has successfully deployed the ExoSphere MT technology at its Kanmantoo copper-gold project in South Australia. The initial survey demonstrated how real-time MT can streamline the complex logistics and data processing typically associated with MT surveys.

Fleet Space chief technology and product officer Dr Hemant Chaurasia says with real-time MT, Fleet Space has elevated the capabilities of this powerful deep-imaging technique to the speed and scale required by modern exploration.

“Historically, MT’s value has been constrained by slow deployments, complex logistics and delayed results — but with ExoSphere MT, we’re combining advanced sensors, edge processing, satellite integration and rapid cloud-based data processing to transform MT into a dynamic tool that delivers actionable 3D insights within days to exploration teams in the field,” he said.

Fleet Space will be releasing additional details of the results of the MT survey with Hillgrove in the coming weeks.