Fleet Space Technologies is delighted to announce the successful completion of a trial using its proprietary Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) technology to faster and non-invasively find critical lithium deposits.
This was commissioned by Australia’s newest lithium miner, Core Lithium, at its Finniss Project in Australia's Northern Territory. This is in line with its mission to provide the globe with high-grade lithium suitable to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
In a statement to the ASX (1st August 2022), Core Lithium described the results of the trial as “an outstanding success”, noting an excellent correlation with the pegmatite body interpreted from drilling to depths in excess of 500m and stating that a number of previously unknown targets have emerged – a major boost for exploration.
Core Lithium’s Finniss Project will be Australia’s newest lithium producer on the ASX Australian Securities Exchange, with first production targeted for Q4 2022. As one of Australia's most capital efficient lithium projects, it has been awarded Major Project Status by the Australian Federal Government.
Opportunity to revolutionise exploration
Fleet’s ExoSphere technology has been created to answer the urgent global requirement to find a dramatically more sustainable, economically viable and faster route to finding critical mineral deposits. Since introducing ExoSphere technology to the market in Q1 2022, Fleet has been engaged by the world’s leading exploration companies.
In completing these successful field trials, ExoSphere has emphatically proven its viability to support the discovery of the more than $13trillion in additional energy transition minerals. This figure is stated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as required to meet global net zero targets to enable the transition of vehicles to clean-air powertrains.
ExoSphere is Fleet’s pioneering exploration technology. It delivers detailed subsurface 3D mapping using an array of Geodes. These devices are so portable and lightweight they can be transported and placed by hand. The geodes use edge computing to analyse ambient seismic noise which is sent by Fleet’s network of small satellites for processing. The data is rapidly processed in the cloud to deliver a 3D visualisation of the area to support critical exploration decisions. This makes searching for key energy transition minerals faster, more sustainable, less expensive and more accurate.
The proposal between Fleet Space and Core Lithium outlined the subscription options for ExoSphere by Fleet. ExoSphere is a pioneering exploration technology that delivers detailed subsurface 3D velocity mapping using an array of Geodes, Fleet’s satellite-connected seismic sensors. The subscription included the rental of the Geodes (satellite-enabled Geophones), planning support, deployment support, and the real-time processing and delivery of any 3D shear velocity models.
Australia's fastest growing space company
For Fleet, the successful global market introduction of ExoSphere has underpinned significant business expansion, as they have hired more than 80 people in their HQ in Adelaide, South Australia and global growth through its first US regional office in Houston, TX. Fleet completed an oversubscribed Series B fundraising round in 2021, confirming institutional and VC endorsement for its technical and commercial approach and standing as a leader in Australia’s rapidly growing space economy.
The Australian federal government has set a dedicated space strategy that aims to triple the space sector’s contribution to GDP to over $12 billion per annum and create up to an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030. In 2021, Fleet announced that it will build the first Hyper Factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere at the Australian Space Park, in Adelaide, South Australia. This landmark development will co-locate four space manufacturing companies in a purpose-built facility with a focus on collaboration in the heart of Australia’s ‘Space State’.
From this state-of-the art facility, Fleet will design, engineer and manufacture the next generation of small satellites. The production of these will utilise the latest additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies to deliver world-changing developments like ExoSphere at great scale, speed and economic viability.
“We created ExoSphere to provide a sustainable, faster and more economically viable alternative to current exploration practices. This work is vital to enabling the dramatic increase in critical mineral discoveries required to support the global transition to clean-air mobility and more sustainable industrial practices. In Core Lithium we are working with one of the most advanced mineral explorers in the world. We are proud that Fleet’s ExoSphere earth scanning technology has produced outstanding results in this landmark field trial, proving the role it will play in accelerating mineral finds as we collectively answer the global challenge to find more than $13 trillion (USD) in critical metals to meet soaring global demand. We are proud to work with the most progressive explorers in the world realising the transformative potential of this technology.” -Matt Pearson, Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies
Core Lithium’s Finniss Project is providing world-class drilling results, affirming its status among Australia's most important strategic mineral projects. Our mission to discover the high grade lithium required to support the world’s rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has been enhanced by the results generated through ExoSphere. The success of this trial shows the potential of the technology to deliver our next generation of exploration targets and we are excited by the prospect of doing further work with Exosphere. -Andy Bennett, Exploration Manager Core Lithium