Australian mining tech start-up Plotlogic raises $28m

Local deep tech investor Main Sequence participated via its third fund, which achieved a first close of AUD 450m (USD 305m) last week. It was joined by Innovation Endeavors, DCVC, and industrial software company Bentley Systems, all of the US, as well as Brazil’s Grids Capital.

DCVC and Grids invested as early as 2020 in a USD 5m seed round alongside Baidu Ventures and US-based 8VC. Innovation Endeavors and mining giant BHP provided a AUD 25m Series A last year. BHP’s venture unit is also an investor in a similar Australian company called SensOre, not to be confused with Plotlogic’s flagship product OreSense.

OreSense combines LiDAR and hyperspectral imaging technology with machine learning algorithms to characterise ores in real time. It was developed in partnership with BHP and other large mining companies such as Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, CITIC Pacific Mining, and Glencore. BHP was the first customer locally, followed by Anglo American, which has deployed the technology globally.

Plotlogic said OreSense has demonstrated an ability to improve health, safety and environment statistics, enhance overall mining operations, and deliver tangible productivity gains. This includes reduced assaying costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and perhaps especially faster mine site analysis. It is said to be able to process samples and deliver usable insights in less than three minutes.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Technology
• Industrials
• Early-stage
• Australia
• Main Sequence Ventures
• Data Collective (DCVC)
• Commodities
• artificial intelligence