In 2020, Sisprobe wins the Open Innovation challenge organized by Eramet Ideas and the EIT RawMaterials. One year later, the company is developing its project at Comilog, Eramet’s subsidiary in Gabon.
The 2021 Open Innovation challenge, organized by Eramet Ideas and EIT RawMaterials, has rewarded technology company Bind-X last week for its solution targeting dust emissions.
As for the 2020 winner, they are continuing their collaboration with the Group. For the 2020 edition of the challenge, candidates were invited to propose solutions on the theme of real-time monitoring. Out of the three finalists, Sisprobe, an international start-up based in France, the USA and Australia, won with its seismic wave monitoring project.
In 2021, Sisprobe’s solution was implemented at Comilog’s Moanda mine, at “point A,” a stockpile through which large quantities of ore pass. “Our method consists of recording the speed at which waves pass through the rock beneath the surface, in order to detect unstable zones,” explains Nick Arndt, past-President of Sisprobe.
An innovative solution to secure Comilog site
After a successful initial test in April, seismic stations were installed on the site in the autumn. “This is a very innovative tool for Comilog, which currently uses conventional monitoring methods with inclinometers and piezometers,” explains Denis Richard, Senior Mining Innovation Expert at Eramet Ideas. “This new solution allows us to anticipate more effectively possible risks of landslides, which would cost us several weeks of production and several million euros.”
The collaboration between Eramet and the start-up is a win-win situation and led to excellent results, and there are many potential applications of Sisprobe’s solution.
“This collaboration is very rewarding for Sisprobe, and the results of the tests carried out in Moanda also allow us to feed similar studies that we are conducting in Canada, Sweden and Australia,” adds Nick Arndt.
