‘Agile geoscience’ underpins new exploration playbook, says Fleet Space
- 21 October 2025
Mining’s old exploration playbook “can’t win today’s game”, Fleet Space Technologies co-founder Matt Pearson told IMARC 2025. He said that applied to service providers and the miners using them.
Pearson said the world needed US$13 trillion of critical minerals by 2050.
“Critical minerals availability makes or breaks the 21st century,” he said.
The calibre and volume of discoveries over the past few decades, and the rate at which they could be turned into mines, suggested the goal was unattainable.
But “agile geoscience” could significantly improve mineral exploration outcomes at a time when major new discoveries were proving more elusive and “linear fragmented processes” of the past, with their “data siloes and data decay ... and seasonal decision cycles” were proving increasingly problematic.
Fleet Space, an Australian-based technology company, has deployed its ExoSphere mineral exploration platform with mining majors such as Rio Tinto, Barrick Mining, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Maaden. The platform turns ambient noise tomography, seismic, magnetotelluric, gravity and other high-resolution 3D exploration survey data into AI-powered insights for field teams in days.
Pearson said agile geoscience was a philosophy of harnessing new technologies to meet new challenges, guided by three core tenets: velocity, integration and adaption. “Adaptive” companies were leveraging real-time data, data-driven drilling, AI and machine learning predictions and cloud data processing, sensing breakthroughs, multi-physics and in-situ core scanning. They were undertaking massive data integrations.
Speed captured value, Pearson said. Bringing all types of sub-surface data together “reduces uncertainty and strengthens decisions”. And adaption – continuous informed course corrections – “ensure you stay on the best path to your goals”.
Pearson said early adopters of new models such as KoBold Metals, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals, which became part of BHP, showed “winners now look more like technology companies than miners”.
“Success will belong to those who adapt their thinking to harness new technologies and methodologies,” he said.
