Smarter mining with satellite data

Earth Observation supports safe and sustainable resource exploration and extraction.

From powering green technologies to sustaining modern industries, raw materials are the backbone of the energy transition and digital economy. Minerals and metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese are core elements in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, computer chips, solar panels and steel. Yet, extracting them comes with great responsibility: Mining and exploration for raw materials should minimise their environmental impact and always ensure the safety of operations.

With the support of the EUSPA, two innovative pilot projects demonstrated how Earth Observation (EO) can effectively increase the operational efficiency in both the exploration and monitoring of raw material extraction. While each pilot addresses a different stage of the mining lifecycle, both used Copernicus data to enable efficient and save exploration and mining practices.

Smarter mineral targeting and exploration in Norway with Kuniko

As the world searches for more sustainable sourcing of raw materials, exploration must be guided by environmental responsibility. In Norway, Kuniko, a mineral exploration company focused on delivering zero-carbon battery metals, has made it its mission to supply essential raw materials like nickel, cobalt, copper, and zinc from within Europe and with maximum traceability. Currently in its exploration phase, Kuniko is surveying the Norwegian wilderness for promising mining areas that can contribute to Europe's energy transition.

But exploration is both time-consuming and costly. Norway's harsh winters allow only a short seasonal window for on-site work, and each field campaign comes with high financial costs and potential risks. Copernicus has the potential to facilitate mineral mapping and field work planning - making it faster, safer, and more cost-efficient.

As part of the EUSPA Pilot projects, Kuniko partnered with Poland-based EO analytics startup TerraEye to develop a remote sensing solution for prioritising exploration targets. By using Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery in combination with other satellite data sources, and by building onto TerraEye's existing platform and knowledge of data analytics, the team detected spectral signatures of mineral deposits, and identified vegetation stress patterns near legacy mining zones, and highlighted areas with higher probability of mineral occurrences.

This approach allowed Kuniko to better plan and optimise limited field time, itinerary and safety of accesses to remote outcrops while still gaining valuable insights. Field validations later confirmed several mineral targets, demonstrating the reliability of the EO-based targeting method.

"Using space data opens new doors in terms of how we can explore our mineral deposits on a large scale. And then going into the field, we can be more targeted and more efficient in actually doing the mapping, which is usually quite time-consuming work for our geologists." said Mona Schanche, COO at Kuniko.

The project highlighted how Earth Observation analytics, in combination with geological knowledge can increase the efficiency of early-stage mineral exploration.

Measuring ground stability for mining safety in Gabon with Eramet

Further along the mining lifecycle, operational safety and environmental protection rely on the ability to detect ground movement before it becomes hazardous. In a separate pilot supported by EUSPA, French mining group Eramet collaborated with Italian remote sensing specialist Tre Altamira to improve space-based subsidence monitoring at active and legacy sites.

Eramet is the largest producer of high-grade manganese ore worldwide, with global operations that provide essential critical metals needed for electrification and green energy. Ensuring the safety and security of its mining activities, particularly in remote or challenging environments, is a central part of its operations.

Using Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar data and advanced InSAR (interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) techniques, the team at Tre Altamira was able to detect subtle shifts in the ground across the mining area with millimetre precision. These insights allowed Eramet to identify areas of instability, such as potential landslides. Detected movements were linked to processes such as erosion, ground settling from stockpiling, and decantation pond consolidation. In parallel, monitoring around key tailings dams revealed no significant or traceable movements.

All results were made accessible to Eramet through an easy-to-use online platform, helping the company visualise changes over time and identify areas that might need closer attention or further safety checks.

For the way forward, Christophe Bessin, Data Scientist at Eramet remarks: "Excited by the success of this proof of concept with EUSPA, we have demonstrated how we can use InSAR in our future operations to increase mining safety - it gave us confidence to broaden its application at Eramet."

The pilot successfully demonstrated how space data such as Sentinel-1 can provide actionable, scalable ground motion data to support risk mitigation, infrastructure maintenance, and long-term planning in mining operations. It showed the potential of Earth Observation to improve operational oversight, especially in regions where ground access is limited or hazardous.

EO for responsible mining: From prospecting to prevention

Free Copernicus Sentinel data is a corner stone in making these solutions cost-efficient, transparent, and scalable.

As the global demand for raw materials continues to grow, these EO-enabled tools offer a pathway toward more responsible and efficient resource management, setting a new standard for the mining and exploration sector across Europe and beyond.

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