SightPower wins MICA funding for automated mine shaft inspection

SightPower has been awarded $612,000 funding from MICA (the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator) for the development of an automated mine shaft inspection, AI-based system for the global mining industry.

Mine shafts are the lifeline of underground mines, and miners depend on safe uninterrupted and efficient flow of material. All shaft constructive elements must always be kept in good working conditions for safe and uninterrupted functionality of an underground mine. To prevent any potential accident and to maintain the continuous hoisting operations, every mine shaft must be stopped for four to 12 hours per week undergoing a visual inspection which is ineffective, unreliable, and puts the inspection team in an unsafe environment.

The AI-driven, automated shaft monitoring system from SightPower will offer significantly better accuracy and reliability than what can be achieved by an inspection done by a person. This lowers the probability of accidents thus improving safety and efficiency of mining operations, and provides almost continuous shaft availability, bringing a significant financial gain by increased operational time and production.

Data collected by the hardware device, consisting of a laser-scanner and high-resolution camera, will be fed into SightPower's digital mine platform. The result will be a digital twin of the mine shaft.

SightPower, headquartered in Ottawa, is developing technology for the digital transformation of mining with seamless integration of all data. Sight Power's Digital Mine platform is data agnostic and works across formats of any data type. This flexibility supports the connection with legacy products, compliance with workflows, data exchange with monitoring and fleet management systems, and the incorporation into ERP systems. See www.Sight-Power.com.

MICA is a national network for mining innovation. It to bridges the innovation-commercialization gaps that delay commercial success, domestically and globally. The organization leverages public and private sector investments by investing in and advancing made-in-Canada solutions and integrating cross-sector innovators and fostering networking opportunities and intersectoral collaboration to generate synergies and help increase the number, scale, and market reach of Canadian small and medium enterprises. See www.MICANetwork.ca.