Canadian keyhole mining proponent Novamera has confirmed it is seeking US$15 million of new equity funding to build on recent engagement from precious and critical minerals companies.
The company, which combines sensors, AI-driven software and a “closed-loop” vertical boring and ore recovery system in its precision mining concept, recently got a C$2.9 million grant from Vancouver-based Digital for a bulk sampling exercise at Great Atlantic Resources’ Golden Promise gold project in Newfoundland, Canada.
Great Atlantic CEO Chris Anderson said the company was “excited to partner with Novamera to showcase the potential of low-impact mining” on the central Newfoundland gold belt. The work is expected to start later this year.
Ontario-based Novamera reportedly received backing from BDC Capital and Chrysalix Venture Capital for a US$5 million financing round in 2021.
The company says it has seven upcoming “imaging and extraction” projects and nine signed customers that will help it generate circa-$5.5 million of revenue over the next 18 months.
“The past nine months have brought rapid market traction for surgical mining, with new projects and a full customer pipeline,” it said.
“As demand increases for critical minerals we’re committed to developing AI-driven mining technologies that can help unlock trillions of dollars in stranded mineral deposits to help fill the metals and minerals supply gap.”
Novamera CEO and co-founder Dustin Angelo said recently junior mineral explorers and developers had shown particular interest in assessing the company’s mining approach.
“This segment is a strong early adopter market for us, contributing significantly to our growing momentum,” he said.
“Our surgical mining method offers a solution to unlock relatively smaller deposits, with scalable capex, ensuring revenue generation at a lower cost. This addresses a critical need for juniors by allowing them to generate cash to execute exploration on their terms while reducing dependence on volatile capital markets.”
Angelo highlighted collaboration alliances with Canadian engineering firms Stantec and WSP.
“Another noteworthy development involves our engagement with Epiroc through the Combient Foundry, where we proposed a pilot project for the joint deployment of our technology and Epiroc’s equipment at a client site,” he said.
“While it is still in progress, the collaboration is heading in a positive direction.”
