Mining technology firm Plotlogic will for the time-being remain ‘hyper focused’ on organic growth in the resources sector despite receiving interest from the agriculture and recycling companies keen to use its technology.
Founded in 2018, the privately held deep-tech firm recently executed a US$28 million Series B to fund growth, bringing the total amount raised since its seed funding to more than US$50 million.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, founder and CEO Andrew Job says given its robust balance sheet the company is well-positioned for growth within the mining sector without having to pursue M&A.
“At the moment we’re hyper focused on mining because we’ve come from a mining background and we see the application in mining as being so important. But certainly longer term we think (our technology) … could be applied in other verticals. We’ve actually had interest already from agribusiness as people in the agricultural space can actually use this technology to understand soil properties and yield optimisation for farms better.”
There’s a bunch of spaces we could play in the future. Right now we’re hyper focused on mining and we feel we can add the most value there, and then see where it goes into the future.”
The company’s first commercial product OreSense combines LiDAR and hyperspectral imaging technology with advanced machine learning algorithms to deliver highly accurate ore characterisation. It allows mine operators to precisely understand the location and material properties of every rock within a mine, in real-time.
Its technology has already been used to assess tailings and waste dumps in old tungsten mines to help miners extract material with precision and extend the longevity of their mine sites without further impact on the local environment.
Job notes Plotlogic’s technology could have applications in the agriculture and recycling sectors and the company has already been approached by recycling firms interested in using its technology. Application in the sector include speeding up recycling material sorting to make operations more efficient and more profitable.
As part of the Series B, Plotlogic brought in new key investors including Galvanized Climate, a climate-focused global investment firm that delivers capital and integrated expertise to accelerate climate solutions. Another investor to come on board was Schneider Electric, which is focused on the digital transformation of energy management and automation.
In March 2022, the deep-tech mining startup raised US$18.5 million in a Series A led by Innovation Endeavors. The round included participation from DCVC, which also reportedly led Plotlogic’s seed round. Baidu Ventures and GRIDS Capital reinvested in the Series A, while new investor Bentley iTwin Ventures, an arm of Bentley Systems, also participated.
While 8VC amd DCVC remain investors Baidu exited as part of the Series B.
To date, Plotlogic has worked with mining majors such as BHP (ASX:BHP) and Glencore (LON:GLEN). The CEO says working with the aforementioned investors and strategic partners highlights the company’s organic growth preference and focus to concentrate on the areas in which it already operates in.
“Generally, as a CEO I have a bias towards organic growth. That said, we’re a private company with a board of directors so we evaluate opportunities as they come up“
“Generally, as a CEO I have a bias towards organic growth. That said, we’re a private company with a board of directors so we evaluate opportunities as they come up. But there is currently nothing in our strategy that’s specifically targeting M&A type of acquisitions in order to grow the company.
At the moment, we’ve got a huge amount of growth in front of us so we’re continuing down that path. Of course, we wouldn’t be ignorant so when those opportunities come up, we essentially evaluate them on a case-by-case basis.”
Job says Plotlogic’s technology is scalable and can be deployed into small mining operations with a boutique mine at one end, to large-scale operations at the other end of the scale. The company’s preference is to build long-term relationships with clients rather than adhoc contracts.
Grown from a one-man-band in 2018 to a workforce of about 80 full-time staff today, the Plotlogic team is mostly based in Brisbane but has since spread out into regions including Perth, Adelaide, North and South America, and more recently, Indonesia.
In Brazil, Plotlogic is working with Vale (NYSE:VALE) where it has a system deployed at one of the mining giant’s iron ore operations. The minetech company has also deployed into Indonesia where it is in the process of expanding its presence ‘as we speak’.
“There’s a huge amount of growth opportunity in the industry, particularly in nickel and Indonesia supplies something like half of the world’s nickel right now.”
According to International Nickel Study Group (INSG), Indonesia’s nickel mine output grew by 48% to 1.58 million tonnes in 2022 and by another 44% in the first 2 months of 2023. Since the country fully banned the export of ore in 2020, all that mine output has been converted to nickel products.
Job says Plotlogic will continue leveraging Australia’s opportunities and offer solutions in ensuring our future mining industry is safe and has minimal impact on the environment.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Plotlogic & iStock
