REDARC and Fleet Space push frontiers of mining technology

Electronics manufacturer REDARC is teaming up with nanosatellite systems manufacturer Fleet Space Technologies to push the frontiers of mining technology utilising satellite sensing.

REDARC will manufacture Fleet Space’s high technology satellite-connected mining exploration products at its Lonsdale, Adelaide facility.

The products will be used with Fleet Space’s ExoSphere, a satellite solution for the mineral exploration industry that provides fast 3D mapping of minerals and drilling targets in near real time.

Fleet’s low power satellite connectivity combined with edge computing and an what the company said was an ‘Ambient Noise Tomography’ method provides near real-time remote access to mineral exploration survey results for rapid decision making.

REDARC Managing Director Anthony Kittel said the partnership brought together two companies recognised as leaders within their own fields.

Kittel said: “We’re excited to be helping Fleet Space bring their incredible technology to the market.

“Our teams have worked closely on the manufacturing requirements for this high tech equipment and its unique design elements.

“We have now begun manufacturing a large order of units and expect to be doing so for some time given the high demand from mining companies across the world.”

Fleet Space’s Co-Founder and CEO Flavia Tata Nardini said the collaboration represented the intersection of advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge space technology, which has the potential to revolutionise the mining industry.

She said: “I look forward to seeing the positive impact this partnership will have in advancing exploration and surveying for valuable deposits, and I hope to see more collaborations like this between Australian companies in the future.”

This is the latest industry partnership for REDARC’s dedicated Defence and Space
business division led by Executive General Manager Scott Begbie.

Begbie said: “Our expertise and experience in designing and manufacturing products is very transferable across industries.

“As well as our recreational and non-recreational markets such as automotive and mining, we are expanding in defence and now space.

“In the space industry we are providing testing and validation services to several companies and are well equipped to partner with established or start-up firms.

“A key factor behind our growth and ability to work on increasingly complex challenges is our ongoing commitment to R&D and our engineering capabilities.”

Approximately 15 cents in every sales dollar generated by REDARC is invested back into innovation, which allows for continuous upgrading of the technology and automation in use across its manufacturing and testing facilities.

Over the past year REDARC’s team of engineers, designers and testing specialists has grown by more than a third, to more than 380.

Picture: REDARC