Hypermine closes seed funding round to maximise mineral recovery and minimise environmental impact

The funding round consists of private equity investments from Stephen Industries and Sage Enterprises, as well as an IPR investment from VTT. The funding will be used to strengthen Hypermine's team, support current customers and acquire new customers, as well as achieve profitable growth.

The demand for minerals is rapidly increasing across multiple industries, driven by global urbanisation, the clean energy transition, and growing agricultural needs. Critical materials like iron and aluminium are essential for construction, while agriculture faces rising pressure to secure non-renewable minerals such as potash and phosphates for fertilizer production.

Clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles and battery storage systems, are driving unprecedented demand for minerals such as copper, cobalt, and lithium. Among them, copper has become a particular concern. Analysts warn that global supply is falling short of projected needs, raising alarms about the impact on climate transition targets. The shortage is influencing geopolitical strategies and prompting renewed attention to the role of mining technology. Rather than relying solely on increased exploration, the industry is looking to innovation in mineral processing and extraction methods to address the growing gap between supply and demand.

Finding ore is not enough, however. The lower the quality of ore, meaning the less of the minerals it contains, the more must be mined. This results in more waste, higher consumption of energy and water, poorer efficiency due to low recovery rates, and increased cost. For example, in Chile, the average copper ore grade has declined by 30% over 15 years.

Hypermine's technology, which combines laser illumination, hyperspectral sensing, and proprietary machine-learning algorithms, allows mine operators to sort the valuable minerals from the remaining mined material at the earliest stage of the mining process, improving resource recovery while minimising the environmental impact. Mines can improve their profitability by 3-10% with the technology while extending their lifetime. Furthermore, Hypermine's technology helps cut down energy use by 10%, and it can reduce ore flotation acids and water usage by 15%.

"Meeting society's material needs without damaging the environment is not an easy undertaking. We want to make mining more efficient, which is key for mining companies to extract more minerals at lower costs, while also minimising environmental impact and reducing the use of water, acids, and energy. We've already proven our technology in multiple different environments and have vast market potential. We are continuing to partner with major players in the global mining industry and have ambitious growth plans," says Markku Makkonen, CEO of Hypermine.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/project-news/25062025/hypermine-closes-seed-funding-round-to-maximise-mineral-recovery-and-minimise-environmental-impact/