The Queensland-based company, which already counts three of the world's four largest miners as clients - BHP, Glencore and Anglo American - as well as mining services giant Thiess, believes opening an office in Perth is a "natural fit".

 

Founder and CEO Dr Andrew Job said a Western Australian office, to complement its Brisbane office, had been planned for more than two years by Plotlogic, but the move was delayed due to WA's COVID-19 travel restrictions.

 

"We've wanted to have a home here for many years," Job said.

 

"Meeting with some of the mining sector's leaders over the past few days and demonstrating how we can assist the industry to cut emissions and become more efficient, I know it's a very logical place for us to expand.

 

"We're now looking forward to boosting our physical presence in the richest resources state in Australia and expanding into projects producing minerals essential for the new economy, as well as further supporting the iron ore industry."

 

OreSense using machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan the rocks, allow targeted mining, enabling lower-cost mining.

 

It is already in use in the iron ore sector and is increasingly targeting WA's rapidly expanding critical minerals sector, particularly lithium, rare earths, nickel and cobalt.

 

Plotlogic recently raised A$25 million with the backing of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and was then named as an industry partner in the first project announced under Canberra's $243 million Trailblazer Universities initiative, which is aimed at supporting commercialisation in the critical minerals sector.

 

The bid for the $50 million federal funding was led by Perth's Curtin University and the four-year project will also be supported by a total of $90 million from Plotlogic and 32 other industry partners, including Glencore, BHP, Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining.

 

The company continues to increase its global footprint with imminent deployments to South America, North America, and Asia.