A new company using the latest technology in seismic imaging has been set up by Curtin University of Technology’s Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) to help mining companies map their ore bodies and plan mining operations.
HiSeis Pty Ltd builds on the technology and expertise in seismic imaging developed over many years in Curtin’s Department of Exploration Geophysics.
Dr Anton Kepic, Head of WASM’s Department of Exploration Geophysics and Dr Milovan Urosevic are founding shareholders in HiSeis, and lead a team that has developed and adapted the latest seismic imaging technology so that it can be applied to ore bodies in a hard rock environment.
Dr Kepic explained the benefits of this new technology for the mining industry.
“Seismic imaging is commonly used in the oil and gas industry to assist with mapping oil reservoirs, and in the past there has been difficulty in obtaining interpretable images in hard rock environments, which has prevented its widespread use in mining,” he said.
“With the technology we’ve developed, we are now able to work with mining companies to give them a much better understanding of their mine site geology using 3D seismic imaging techniques.”
“This knowledge is extremely valuable in exploration and in planning mining operations.”
The imaging service has already been successfully supplied over a number of years through Curtin, generating revenue of close to $1 million per annum. Customers have included Barrick Gold, Independence Group, Rio-Tinto, BHPB, Goldfields, Consolidated Minerals, ERA, and First Quantum.
“HiSeis is another example of the commercially relevant research being undertaken at Curtin,” said Mr Rohan McDougall, Director of Curtin’s IP Commercialisation.
“The interest in the service provided by Dr Urosevic and Dr Kepic and their team has reached a sufficient scale that it is appropriate to set up an independent company to fully commercialise the service,” he said.
“Curtin has provided seed investment in the Company alongside the founding team and will remain a shareholder while the company establishes itself in the market.”
The company has appointed experienced resource executives Mr Charlie Morgan and Mr Peter Williams to serve as directors.
Contact: Mr Rohan McDougall; Director, IP Commercialisation; Curtin; 08 9266 3370; r.mcdougall@curtin.edu.au OR Ann Marie Lim; Public Relations; Curtin; 08 9266 4241; 0401 103 532; ann.lim@curtin.edu.au
Note to Editors:
About HiSeis
HiSeis Pty Ltd has a unique set of skills and technology related to hard rock seismic surveying. This technology has the potential to significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of creating 3D images of the subsurface geology for a number of different industries, including mineral exploration and delineation, geothermal and water exploration, and geosequestration.
About Curtin IP Commercialisation
Curtin established a pre-seed fund in 2005 and a follow-on fund in 2008, each valued up to $5 million. The funds are being applied to support early stage commercialisation of innovative new technologies developed at Curtin. The University has invested in 11 companies and a number of unincorporated opportunities. The investee companies are rapidly growing and employ over 100 people in new economy jobs and generate revenues in excess of $10 million per annum.
