Prospect Mining Studio supports startups of all stages, forward-thinking innovators and prominent researchers as they build, pilot and scale frontier technologies that will advance the natural resource and mining industries with a focus on sustainable and socially responsible solutions. A catalyst for change in the industry, the studio is a partnership between leading Indian mining conglomerate, the Vimson Group, and innovation hub, New Lab. Each 12-month program cycle brings together startups, entrepreneurs, mining industry experts, venture partners and leading academics from across the globe to define challenges, prototype rapidly, and implement pilots at mining sites, all while building efficiencies, measuring impact and disrupting the status quo.
If you are a corporation, investor or industry expert interested in partnering with Prospect Mining Studio outside of our open call, please contact us.
OUTCOMES
- Bring together frontier technologies and applied entrepreneurship to address the mining industry’s most pressing challenges around efficiencies, future of workforce, data optimization and reducing carbon footprint
- Establish partnerships between mining industry leaders and innovators from startup and academic research communities
- Validate and advance technologies to market through piloting at mining sites
- Create unique investment deal flow to commercialize technologies and scale businesses that gain traction in the Studio
PROGRAM PHASES
Prospect brings together teams of research analysts, industry experts, engineers and entrepreneurs to realize untapped opportunities in the natural resources and mining industry. We are building advanced data tools to support our research and studio ecosystem. A range of mining experts provide first-hand insights and evaluate key findings. The knowledge base generated in this phase guides the program thesis and the selection process for identifying teams to participate in the Studio.
Prospect will convene stakeholders for a summit on December 11th, 2019 at New Lab to present and refine challenges for the next phases of the program. Select teams from the open call will be invited to the summit to showcase their work and engage with mining industry experts and investors. The summit sessions will surface and prioritize high impact mining challenges while uncovering compelling technologies and solutions that could be applied to the industry. Teams unable to attend the summit will still have the opportunity to participate in the Engage phase.
Up to 12 teams will be selected to continue in the program, engaging Vimson, New Lab and the supporting ecosystem of experts to progress towards clear milestones. Teams will be matched with the resources best suited to their stage of development and greatest needs such as mining, operational and site data or financial support to build industry-specific technology applications. Mature companies will be given opportunities to fast-track to the pilot phase. All teams will gain access to New Lab’s community, network, prototyping facilities and workspaces as well as a cohort of mining experts. Teams will be able to participate remotely and are not required to relocate to New York City for this phase.
Teams meeting the necessary milestones will pilot and validate their technologies at Vimson or partner mining sites. This phase will support teams in product integration, expose them to additional investment opportunities and help accelerate products to market.
TIMELINE
Sep 13 – Dec 6, 2019
Dec 11, 2019
Jan – Jun 2020
Jul 2020
From Feb 2020
FOCUS AREAS
Prospect believes a range of emerging technologies will create impactful, scalable opportunities across the $1T mining industry. Prospect Mining Studio will touch all aspects of the mining value chain, including prospecting & surveying, exploration, mine design & planning, production, and mine closure & mitigation.
APPLICATION AREAS MAY INCLUDE
- Mineral Discovery and Extraction
- Energy Efficiency
- Water Management
- Sustainability and Closed Loop Production
- Waste Recovery
- Worker Performance and Safety
- Data and Logistics Optimization
TECHNOLOGIES MAY INCLUDE
- Computer Vision
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Robotics
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Synthetic Biology, Chemistry, and Material Science
- Telecommunications and Networking
- Industrial IoT
- Geomechanics and Geometallurgy
APPLY
Applications for Prospect Mining Studio’s first Open Call are now closed. However, we are always interested in hearing from teams eager to apply their frontier technology to mining. Fill out the form below to be considered for relevant future projects and cycles of the program.
CRITERIA
- Have a technology relevant to at least one of the defined focus areas
- Have a team in place with technology expertise and/or be willing to work closely with an entrepreneur-in-residence
- Be able to commit to participation in the Engage and Pilot phases of the program
APPLY
Applications to Prospect Mining Studio are now closed. Please check back for program updates and future opportunities to get involved.
PARTNERS
Prospect Mining seeks leading corporate and venture partners who are interested in helping drive innovation in the mining sector. Benefits of partnership include: engagement with a curated portfolio of talented technology entrepreneurs, participation in ideation workshops, access to cutting edge research, engagement with proof-of-concepts and prototypes for partner-driven challenges, and opportunity to participate in strategic investments.
Founding partners:
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If you are a mining industry leader, a researcher, or expert and would like to participate in our innovation studio focused on transformational technologies applied to the mining industry, please let us know.
TEAM
The team is comprised of leaders from Vimson Group and New Lab, who are committed to fostering entrepreneurship and creating positive change through sustainable mining. The team also includes a diverse network of experts in both the mining industry and relevant technology domains who guide and advise participating innovators as they shape the future of mining.
ADVISORS
