Australian multinational mining company BHP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Africa’s Council for Geoscience (CGS) to collaborate on geoscientific research and exploration.

The agreement between the parties outlines a framework for impactful collaboration as it pertains to exploration initiatives, research projects and publications.

The MoU aims to support exploration by democratising data and leveraging AI to evaluate historical prospects that have not been exposed to modern technology.

While the parties have not yet outlined specific responsibilities of both parties as yet, the MoU marks the start of an ecosystem that allows the industry to collaborate and combine multiple data sources to leverage the most value from the data.

BHP group exploration officer Tom O’Connor confirms that there is scope for BHP to provide financial support to CGS in future; however, the focus right now is on capability building and creating a framework for collaboration. “The intent is to work closely with the geoscientists at CGS to support digitisation efforts and making data available to explorers within South Africa,” he adds.

The parties will have committed to exploring opportunities to work together in data processing, geoscientific research and modernisation and management of geoscience data.

“The agreement has potential to deliver significant value to the sector by transforming geoscientific data into actionable insights. This will enable more informed decision-making, derisked exploration, improved sustainability outcomes and increased discovery efficiency,” O’Connor notes.

The MoU will enable both parties to contribute important geoscientific data to the Open Subsurface Data Universe, which is traditionally known for its oil and gas data hub, and strengthen its mining and mineral data repository.

Once the data is digitised through this partnership, CGS will make the data available to the public.

The collaboration aligns with CGS’s goal to accelerate digital exploration through data, information and knowledge sharing, which will democratise access to geological data on a large scale, unlocking opportunities for aspiring miners, researchers and industry stakeholders.

CGS CEO Mosa Mabuza says the organisation is pleased to have signed an MoU with BHP, which has a proven track record of investing in critical minerals such as copper.

“This agreement will enable us to collaborate closely with BHP’s generative exploration team in identifying potential new mineral opportunities worldwide. The extensive geological data held by CGS is central to this partnership, and creates a rare opportunity to unlock new insights and advance exploration efforts both locally and internationally.”

O’Connor adds that, with the advent of advanced computing, leveraging legacy data stands as one of the largest areas of latent value in the search for new mineral deposits.

“Ultimately, new discoveries need new ideas, and new ideas come from the combination of capability and the integration of existing and new data. South Africa has an incredibly rich mining history with a wealth of knowledge and data that we can seek to make available to new technologies in the service of discovery both here in South Africa and across the broader region,” he states.

The MoU represents a shared commitment for collaboration that advances digital exploration, knowledge sharing and the responsible use of geoscientific data to support South Africa’s mining and economic development objectives.

The agreement aligns with BHP’s Xplor incubator programme, which has since 2023 helped to fast-track early-stage exploration projects for critical minerals such as copper and nickel. Selected companies in the programme receive up to $500 000 in equity-free funding, expert mentorship and access to BHP’s global network of partners and service providers for between six and nine months.

This year’s Xplor cohort includes South Africa’s Orion Minerals, which has advanced copper projects in the country’s Northern Cape province.