Mining technology tested in Yukon uses particles from space to see underground

Mining technology tested in Yukon uses particles from space to see underground

Sensors figure out what certain particles can tell us about density of material underground

The Yukon’s Macmillan Pass was one of the first regions to see subatomic particles used to view the earth’s subsurface.

The technique promises to cut down on the time, cost and environmental impact of exploratory drilling – the traditional way of figuring out what’s underground. It’s taking off in the mining industry, with major companies like Rio Tinto now using the technology.

The project to develop and test the technology received over $21 million from a federal program created to support and drive Canadian innovation. The funding went to a consortium of partners, including Simon Fraser University, the Vancouver-based company Ideon Technologies, and Fireweed Metals, a mining company.

After being developed in Vancouver, the technology was used at Fireweed's Macmillan Pass exploration site in eastern Yukon.

It works by using sensors to figure out what certain particles can tell us about the density of material underground. They occur when cosmic rays from exploding stars collide with the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating a shower of subatomic particles called muons. Muons are harmless, and they’re continuously falling all over the world and moving deep into the ground.

But as they fall, they’re scattered by higher-density matter like metallic ore, which is picked up by the sensors – like your teeth are X-rayed at the dentist.

“Basically your gums and teeth are blocking those X-ray particles getting to the detector plate,” explained Gary Agnew, the CEO of Ideon. “Our technology works the same way.”

One of the biggest challenges to investment in the mining industry is uncertainty about what’s actually below the ground. Companies spend millions over a period of decades on drill campaigns that pull up core after core in an effort to prove to investors they're sitting on potential for a lucrative mine.

Agnew points to the Macmillan Pass project, which is owned by Fireweed Metals and includes mineralized ore zones it calls Tom East and Tom West. The property, approximately 200 kilometres northeast of Ross River, contains deposits of zinc, lead, and silver, according to the company.

“There’s been various owners of that site over decades, and they’ve all gone at hit and miss, needle-in-a-haystack drilling to see what’s actually there,” Agnew said. “The CEO told me there was actually 25 years between the discovery of Tom East and Tom West – and yet they’re only metres apart.”

Vancouver company renews exploration at gold mine south of Whitehorse

Here’s where the Yukon’s Mactung mine project stands, one year after joint Canada-U.S. investment

Using muon technology, Agnew says they can create 3D models of the subsurface that show exactly where ore can be found.

Jack Milton, vice-president of exploration with Fireweed, said this information is invaluable.

“We’re very limited in what we can see on the surface,” said Milton. “Sometimes we can see outcrops. When we start drilling, we get more information, but it’s really difficult to infer what’s really under our feet.”

Milton says the new technology has been especially useful in finding deeper deposits that may be buried by non-mineralized rock.

This may open up possibilities for underground mines, which can preserve far more forest and wildlife habitat than an open pit mine and create higher paying jobs for those willing to spend their days deep underground.

Convincing investors that a mining project is worthwhile has historically led to everything from cherry-picked drill results to outright fraud, and created pressure to exaggerate the benefits of trendy technology gimmicks.

“This industry has had its fingers burned a number of times before,” said Agnew. “Every one of the companies we’ve worked with comes to the table with a high degree of skepticism about technology.”

But Agnew says the science behind this project is not new – it’s been around since the '50s, but it’s just now being applied in the mining industry – and their findings are confirmed through drilling.

“Some people immediately think we’re going to do away or dramatically reduce the amount of drilling, and certainly some of that is true,” he said. “But what we really do is help compress time.”

Agnew says knowing exactly where to target takes years off the typical exploration timeline, and helps reduce impacts to the environment. Fireweed was part of the field-testing phase for the technology.

Milton says Fireweed was willing to try, "because we could see the opportunity that it could provide in looking at these spaces where we’ve not been able to explore before."

“The risk was also somewhat mitigated by government funding,” he said.

'A great example of Canadian innovation'

Nadia Shaikh-Naeem, chief programs officer with Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, says at over $21 million, this project is the biggest the federal program has funded. She says the team was excited by the technology and its potential applications throughout the life phase of a mine, from exploration to remediation.

“We made an investment for them to be able to really test out the technology,” she said. “There was an opportunity here for Canada to play a lead role. It’s a great example of Canadian innovation and tenacity.”

Ideon received the Governor General's Innovation Award in 2023. Last year, Deloitte named the Vancouver company one of the fastest-growing technology companies in North America after it reported 928 per cent revenue growth.

Shaikh-Naeem says when it comes to these kind of investments, taxpayers will see the dividends in the years to come through everything from “better AI models, to cooler data centres.”

“Examples like this, where there is a market and they’re making that success, they’re going to be developing not only the technologies that may be repurposed in health care or forestry or preventing wildfires,” she said. “They are also going to be creating the talent for tomorrow.”

Ideon has gone on to work with major mining companies like BHP and signed a five-year partnership with Rio Tinto. Earlier this week, the company announced a research funding partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Caitrin Pilkington is a reporter with CBC North in Whitehorse. She previously worked for Cabin Radio in Yellowknife. She can be reached at caitrin.pilkington@cbc.ca.