Strategic Elements unit launches handheld mining AI, eyes $500M market
What's the deal? Stealth TechnologiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, owned by ASX-listed Strategic ElementsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has launched a pilot program for EdgeiQ Portable, a handheld device that captures underground spatial data without GPS, internet, or cloud computing. The system combines LiDAR scanning, 3D mapping, spatial positioning, and onboard analysis. It follows five completed underground field trials with a Tier 1 mining company.
What's the endgame? Stealth has opened discussions with prospective mining partners about revenue-generating deployments. Its fixed-site product, EdgeiQ OnSite, has already secured its first commercial mining contract with a major global gold producer for underground haulage measurement — a market the company estimates at over US$323.5M.
Why now? Working with Curtin University, Stealth deployed an initial AI model directly onto existing EdgeiQ Portable hardware, without adding computing equipment. The model trained on 1,000 simulated mining rounds and produces outputs in about 100 milliseconds per inference.
The model aims to predict overbreak — where excavation extends beyond the intended profile — and associated dilution. Stealth estimates overbreak costs underground mining more than $2 billion a year worldwide, based on internal assumptions.
Managing director Charles Murphy said Stealth has reached "an important inflection point, with its first commercial mining contract secured, multiple product commercialisation opportunities progressing and Physical AI development now converging." He added the company is positioned to build "technologies enabling AI to move beyond screens and data centres into machines and real-world industrial operations."
What could go wrong? EdgeiQ Portable remains at the pilot stage, and the first AI model was trained on simulated data, not yet validated against operational outcomes. A Tier 1 mining company has approved access to operational data to support development during the December quarter, ahead of a potential field trial targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
The signal: The launch fits a wider push to bring sensing and AI closer to underground work, with firms like SandvikDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → expanding automation platforms and Australian firm ADR developing GPS-independent inspection robots. The near-term test is whether pilots convert to paid deployments and the model holds up on real mine data.
Read more: strategicelements.com.au
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
