When we have a mobile phone in our hands or we find ourselves using a computer at our workplace, we forget that there are certain vital minerals so that batteries can allow us to use this type of device and mobility resources. Therefore, the demand for these minerals has increased. Now, how to find them?
This is the great challenge that KoBold Metals scientists have had to face. To do this, they have developed a method to find valuable minerals such as lithium, cobalt or graphite that may be hidden in still uncharted terrain. Due to the growing demand, time is pressing, and that is why the more sources of mineral extraction there are, the better.
What about the mining sector?
You might think that the mining sector is already doing its job. Nevertheless, can’t keep up of the growing demand for the minerals needed for batteries. This is a problem. First, because this sector does not want to be left behind; second, because new strategies have to be devised to be able to extract minerals or, what is more difficult, find them.
Mining companies work with a series of very specific protocols. They must request the appropriate permits in order to carry out the implementation of a new mining line. But, the most surprising thing is that this can take up to 10 years to achieve. A time that is not now in the minds of those who are in a hurry to seek to satisfy the current demand for minerals.
KoBold Metals device, AI support
Due to the above, KoBold Metals has managed to test a new device that is based on Artificial Intelligence and that seems to be giving excellent results. The element is a fairly wide coil made of copper that has to be hung from a helicopter. What it does is send electromagnetic waves, reaching the depths of the earth.
What is the OBJETIVE? Uncover the presence of minerals such as those already mentioned above without having to wait to look for them by launching means that are slow and could be a waste of time. The data from the coil is transmitted to the KoBold satellite and sent to an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system, a system that KoBold developed together with Standford University.
In this way, the information on the analyzed terrain is obtained in an optimal way so that the high-tech software tools that we have today can tell the experts which areas to focus on and which ones to ignore. This not only means a greater streamlining of the mineral extraction process, but also very important economic savings.
KoBold is not the only one conducting research in this regard to find minerals more efficiently. There are other companies in the mining sector that are relying on Artificial Intelligence and algorithms that are capable of working with a series of data on a massive scale. Because the exposed minerals have the task of offering more sustainable sources for the creation of devices.
In fact, the work itself on the extraction of minerals will only be carried out in those places where it can be done without causing damage to the environment. This is something fundamental, a premise that will always be taken into consideration, even though there is a very interesting source for the removal of this mineral. KoBold is focusing today on Canada, as it is the region with the most data.
