Alacrity Cleantech Talks

Exploring Cosmic-Ray Muon Tomography with Ideon Technologies

Episode Summary

Season 2, Episode 8 of Cleantech Talks features Peter Van Der Gracht and Gary Agnew, CEO at Ideon Technologies, discussing the company's origin story and how their mining solutions can be applied.

Episode Notes

-Peter Van Der Gracht, senior advisor at Alacrity Canada, talks to Gary Agnew of Ideon Technologies about the company's innovative mining solutions

-how cosmic-ray muon technology is similar to x-ray technology

-applying this technology to the exploratory phase of mining as part of the geophysics toolkit

-straight-line imaging technique provides a high degree of certainty in the industry

-technology is focused on displacing drilling, which is expensive to conduct

-base metals and battery metals can be detected by density contrast using this technology

-how does this technology fit within the regulatory framework?

-removing hit-and-miss drilling from projects, cutting costs while increasing certainty

-change management in mining means that a solution has to offer a significant value proposition to create the momentum to make the necessary changes

-direct-to-customer business model with potential for partnerships

-managing through a lot of complexity, providing the customer with a simple solution

-providing "certainty-as-a-service"

-developing an optimized plan with the customer using muon tomography technology to provide better geophysical certainty

-innovation started at TRIUMF physics laboratory at the University of British Columbia in an effort to miniaturize the detection device's form factor

-using muon detectors in archaeological sites; is this a new marketplace for the technology?

-navigating commercialization in a scientific environment like TRIUMF; building a bridge between academia and industry

-how the Canadian ecosystem has played a role in Ideon's growth and development

-providing great environmental benefits and increasing profitability