Geoscience software company Seequent has grown from a small startup to a 750 employee operation over the past two decades. With the launch of its latest platform, Evo, at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, it is introducing new technology that could significantly impact the mining sector.
Seequent is aiming to expedite exploration and enhance accuracy in mining by centralizing geoscience data, streamlining workflows and improving collaboration between industries.
Designed to integrate data from multiple sources, Evo enhances decision making, optimizes resource extraction and supports environmental management. With open APIs and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, it extends the functionality of existing tools like Leapfrog, while leveraging cloud computing for faster processing of large datasets.
“What this industry needs more than anything is innovation,” said Graham, noting that the Seequent team comes from an array of backgrounds, including medical science. “(The mining sector) has to change the way it works, and usually, when you look at the pattern of technology, the most dramatic innovations come from outside your industry, not inside.”
The data fragmentation challenge
One of the issues Evo seeks to address is data fragmentation.
While today’s geologists and miners are privy to more data than ever, much of this data is distributed across different systems and locations, preventing companies from achieving full visibility and control.
To streamline the process for mining sector workers, Evo centralizes geoscience data from various sources, improving accessibility, collaboration and analysis. By integrating data that is spread across platforms, Evo helps users work with up-to-date information and draw insights from past projects.
Its geospatial search incorporates Cesium technology, and Seequent has introduced two related applications, Driver and BlockSync, to enhance functionality. Graham explained that to achieve this, Evo was designed to be open instead of siloing data and forcing mining companies to also be technology companies.
‘It’s enabling things to move quickly and easily across whatever the device,” he continued. “We saw this problem years ago, but we knew it would take cloud and cloud architecture to break this paradigm, and so what Evo is doing is it’s breaking that paradigm, and it’s approaching the world from the perspective of being open.”
The open platform design enables seamless connectivity and automation, even with competing software, according to Graham. This approach is key as even though mining companies are not tech firms, they often employ skilled professionals who can leverage automation and coding tools.
Additionally, the system allows users to develop custom solutions without relying solely on third-party vendors, marking a significant shift in how technology can be used in the industry.
Critical minerals discovery and jurisdictional risk
With the search for critical minerals deposits intensifying on a global scale, Graham said that technologies like Evo can can be leveraged to analyze data and better pinpoint deposits.
“We know the discovery process and the development process now is just a whole lot more complex,’ he said during the interview. ‘(Deposits are) harder to find, they’re deeper, the grades are lower, the easy stuff is gone. So the way to deal with that is to use the best science you can find.
The Seequent CEO also acknowledged the geopolitical challenges facing mining executives.
“Being a mining CEO and a mining executive right now has got to be one of the most complex tasks in the world,” said Graham, pointing to trade restrictions, tariffs, inflation, permitting challenges, community expectations and unpredictable geopolitical shifts as some of the reasons why the job is difficult.
“As an executive, the one thing you have to do is build a resilient and adaptable organization that can see its way through these kinds of changes,” he said. “Adaptability is the key, and this is what we can bring to a mining company — a flexible, adaptable technology framework that enables you to flex your organization fast, revisit scenarios and recalculate.”
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.