SBIR Phase I: Heap leaching and slope saturation monitoring with muon detectors

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project focuses on the development of a broad-scope technology for advanced geophysical density measurements and the monitoring of fluid fronts based on the passive detection of naturally occurring cosmic rays. The primary application area is in the mining sector where the technology is expected to be able to drive significant efficiency improvements (up to 10%) in the recovery of copper and other metals. These efficiencies could potentially result in a commercial value of close to $1 billion per year in the United States alone. The technology can also be applied to monitoring the stability of dams and levees, a widely recognized ongoing concern, where it can provide significant safety and environmental benefits.The intellectual merit of this project is the development of field-ready instrumentation, and in particular an innovative fit-for-purpose network of cosmic ray detectors that can be easily scaled and reconfigured to cover large or small investigation areas with a customizable spatial resolution at a minimal cost. This project will also demonstrate original data inversion methodologies and function of such methods in the feasibility study.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.