HIF Receives Grant for Natural Resource Exploration

The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, German research laboratory, will receive a grant of approximately €900,000 ($965,000) over the next three years to support the development of new technologies for sustainable natural resource exploration.

Taking drone-borne technologies for the exploration of mineral deposits to the next level is the aim of the MULSEDRO project at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) in Germany. Courtesy of HZDR/ Detlev Müller.

The European Union funding will be made available by EIT RawMaterials, which is supported by the European Insitute of Innovation and Technology, and has already been earmarked for three new projects. The researchers are seeking to advance drone-based exploration and other innovative exploration methods.

The HIF-led inSPECTor project aims at developing an innovative sensor system that can, for example, be used with a drill core scanner. The ultimate objective is the rapid, precise and non-destructive analysis of rare earths and other critical raw materials. For this purpose, the project partners intend to combine different sensors in modular fashion, thereby exploiting the strengths of both hyperspectral imaging and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy.

The novel approach is intended to facilitate efficient and high-resolution, 2D mapping of natural rock samples and drill cores. It can also be used for the processing or recycling of valuable substances. Other partners in the project are Freiberg Instruments, the Geological Survey of Finland, the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Specim Spectral Imaging Ltd.

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf laboratory conducts research in the energy, health and matter sectors. HIF pursues the development of innovative technologies for the processing of minerals and metalliferous raw materials in an efficient, environmentally minded manner.