Ideon

Ideon Technologies is a Canadian subsurface intelligence company pioneering the application of cosmic-ray muon tomography. The company's Discovery Platform integrates proprietary muon detectors, imaging systems, inversion technologies, and artificial intelligence to provide x-ray-like visibility up to 1 kilometer beneath the Earth's surface. Ideon's technology transforms muon data into reliable 3D density maps, helping geologists identify, characterize, and monitor mineral deposits with greater precision and confidence.

The company's solution uses the energy from supernova explosions in space to image underground targets, offering the only straight-line subsurface imaging technology available today. Muon tomography utilizes a passive and free energy source (cosmic rays), can image in noisy or conductive environments, and captures data continuously to improve results over time. Ideon's platform delivers high-resolution imaging along with precise anomaly location information at depths not supported by other subsurface geophysics methods.

Ideon's technology aims to reduce the cost, time, risk, and environmental impact of mineral exploration while increasing certainty and discovery rates in an industry historically characterized by uncertainty. The company is addressing the worldwide shortage in critical mineral supply by helping major mining companies achieve greater certainty in their ore body knowledge to precisely target high-recovery, low-waste deposits of critical minerals required for the clean energy transition.

Key customers and partnerships

Ideon has collaborated with Orano Group, one of the top global uranium producers, since 2016. In May 2023, Ideon delivered successful imaging results from the world's first borehole muon tomography project for mineral exploration at Orano's McClean Lake site in Saskatchewan. The company has also worked with BHP, the world's largest mining company, which committed to collaborating on Ideon's Discovery Platform as it was developed.

In November 2023, Ideon was named an industrial affiliate of Stanford University's Mineral-X program, engaging in collaborative research on technological innovations for the critical minerals supply chain. The company has also partnered with the University of British Columbia to advance research on determining the full value of ore body knowledge in mineral exploration and mining. Ideon's technology is now being deployed through four out of five of the world's largest mining companies in locations including Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Australia.