Driving sustainable mining through data-driven solutions

Critical minerals are natural resources driving advanced technologies, economic security, and the global shift to renewable power systems. These minerals, including copper, lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and nickel, are fundamental to renewable energy, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. Their development requires comprehensive Geo-data solutions throughout the mining life cycle – from initial exploration to ongoing operations. A key aspect of responsible mineral development is the management of tailings storage facilities (TSFs), which contain the products that result from ore processing.

Developing critical minerals projects presents several challenges, including geopolitical risks due to concentrated supply chains in a few countries, environmental impacts from mining and processing, and the need for safe tailings management to prevent ecological and social impacts.

Most near-surface mineral deposits have become scarce, and there is a demand to locate deeper deposits using new innovative exploration methods. Greater emphasis should be placed on integrated geoscience methods, prioritising efficient and optimised workflows for analysing and interpreting new and historical data.

In mining, groundwater management is crucial for providing dry, stable and safe working conditions to access minerals below the water table. Abstraction of groundwater can also impact ecosystems and water supply and promote contaminant transport, which needs to be managed throughout the project life cycle.

In addition, TSF management requires comprehensive Geo-data solutions, including advanced site characterisation, continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and maintenance to protect communities and ecosystems. Water management, energy consumption, and carbon emissions must be carefully balanced while maintaining cost-effective operations. Following the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), operators can balance the growing demand for critical minerals with sustainable practices and regulatory compliance.

Tailings storage facilities are engineered structures that safely contain processed material after mineral extraction, requiring careful management throughout their life cycle. Following the GISTM, proper safety assessment, monitoring, and maintenance are important for protecting communities and the environment.

Fugro is an industry leader in the characterisation of tailings dams, determining what is inside the dam so that the mine’s engineering company can assess the safety factor of the TSF. We use equipment such as cone penetration tests (CPTs), rotary and sonic drilling, geophysical systems and our own soil laboratories to develop the Geo-data insights necessary to reliably determine this safety factor.

• Lidar mapping for 3D surface modelling

• Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) for 2D subsurface modelling

• Ambient noise tomography (ANT), part of Fugro’s GroundIQ® solution for 3D subsurface mapping

• Aquisense® - measuring in-situ permeability for silty soils

• Sonic and rotary drilling

• Deep Drive® - land-based continuous thrust CPT

• Advanced sampler for in-situ void ratio determination

• XRF CPT - cone for measuring metal presence in TSFs

• Gel push sampler for high-quality soil sampling

• Laboratory soil testing - including advanced cyclic testing and customer-bespoke tests

• Advanced numerical modelling for stability analyses, earthquake engineering and mud flow inundation.

Fugro provides comprehensive Geo-data solutions for critical mineral exploration and development, from initial discovery through production. Our services combine advanced geophysical surveys, geochemical analysis, 3D geological modelling, and remote sensing to identify mineral deposits. Our expert consulting supports site appraisal, resource estimation, and feasibility studies, ensuring efficient, sustainable development. Through innovative technologies and global expertise, we help clients minimise risks, optimise operations, and meet regulatory requirements throughout the mining life cycle.

Data acquisition

• Desktop studies

• High precision land surveys

• Geological mapping

• Exploration drilling

• Geophysical surveys

• Borehole geophysics

• CPTu testing

• XRF-CPT-testing

Data analysis

• Geochemical analysis

• Geomechanical analysis

• Petrographic analysis

• Groundwater and environmental analyses

• Data processing, modelling and interpretation

Consultancy

• Geological site supervision

• Exploration support

• Specialist data evaluation

• Modelling for input to resource evaluation

• Data quality management

By adopting an integrated investigation strategy, we combine initial site screening using low-footprint geophysical remote sensing techniques such as ANT to develop early identification of key geological features, allowing improved targeting of subsequent intrusive investigations (boreholes and CPTs). This integrated approach leads to improved fidelity of the subsurface ground model and often to a less intrusive investigation programme, with associated cost and schedule savings.

Fugro offers a range of novel, specialist sampling systems that are unique in the industry and designed specifically to improve sample recovery in these challenging materials.