Industry & Energy Innovations
Date/Time: Monday, November 2 | 1:30pm
Location: Hudbay Stage
EarthEx Geophysical Abstract: exSWARM: Rethinking Drone Magnetics from the Ground Up
Speaker: Mitesh Patel, EarthEx Geophysics
Drone-borne magnetic surveying is now standard practice in mineral exploration, yet much of the industry still depends on integrated systems whose core architecture has changed little in years, constraining data quality and how fast and efficiently a survey can be flown.
At EarthEx, we set out to remove those constraints by developing exSWARM, a swarm-based drone platform designed and built in-house. In its magnetic surveying application, exSWARM rethinks each layer of the acquisition chain. A custom-engineered data logger captures the magnetometer signal at a high data rate with very low noise, while a purpose-built sensor housing stabilizes the magnetometer to improve both signal quality and positional fidelity.
The platform flies safely at lower terrain clearance with tighter drape over rugged ground, and combined with survey-grade positioning, it delivers high-resolution magnetic data with excellent absolute positional accuracy. Operated as a coordinated swarm rather than a single aircraft, it covers ground faster and more safely with fewer personnel and less equipment, driving down survey costs.
Proven against current commercial solutions, exSWARM delivers denser, cleaner data at closer terrain clearance, substantially improving productivity without compromising data quality, all at a lower cost than ever.
Responsible and Sustainable Metal Recovery from Tailings (a made-in-Manitoba solution)
Speaker: Wayne Warren, SRM Managing Director and R&D VP
Mining is inherently “messy” from line-cutting to exploration drilling to mine-site development to refinery operation to disposal of tailings solids and liquids. For the past 12 years, SRML has focussed on mine-site remediation, including developing metal recovery from tailings (MRFT).
SRML research has developed and applied new technology (Remediapp® and Poly-A®) which help to recover valuable metals from tailings. Both tools have demonstrated the capacity to improve tailings wastewater quality by raising pH of liquids while isolating selected solids.
The presentation at CCMEC 2026 will explain the basic science and illustrate the technology used to successfully recover metal from Manitoba tailings. SRM’sprocess makes economical use of the other waste material – while rendering wastewater non-hazardous and re-usable.
SRML’s management and technology are committed to the following principles and practices:
• profitability for miners and local populations,
• circular mining,
• earning community and stakeholder acceptance,
• comprehensive consultation,
• economic and environmental remediation.
SRM is also pleased to introduce state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence mining optimization technology from Foresta.io, our partner at SRML-Latam in Chile. Details to follow soon. Join SRM in making the Keystone Province a more responsible, sustainable mining environment.
Speakers
Mitesh Patel, EarthEx Geophysical
Mitesh Patel is the Research and Development Manager at EarthEx, where he leads the development of the company’s in-house drone and geophysical technologies.
He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and, since joining EarthEx in 2025, has drawn on six years of experience across EarthEx and the University of Manitoba’s STAR Lab (EarthEx’s academic research partner) to work on a broad range of projects spanning custom drone design, satellite design, field electronics and sensor integration, and data processing and analytics coding. His work extends from purpose-built hardware to the software pipelines that turn raw survey data into high-resolution results.
Beyond the technical side, Mitesh manages the government funding programs that support EarthEx’s R&D activities, along with the company’s relationships with academic
Wayne Warren, Sediment Research Minerals
Following 30 years in public education (environmental geography and innovative technology), Wayne connected with like-minded folks and in 2009 launched Sediment Research & Minerals Ltd. (SRM), where he is currently Managing Director and VP for R&D.
SRML has 20+ shareholder/partners (in Canada, EU and S. America), with expertise in mining, exploration, environmental mitigation, business development, industrial processing. They currently have exclusive rights to use a polymer and mineral derivatives that benefit the mining industry and hold a patent for converting waste methane to valuable methanol.
Wayne has deep roots in this province, hving been born andraised in Flin Flon, Manitoba – one of many Warrens employed by the local mining company (HBM&S, currently Hudbay Minerals). Growing up in a heavily impacted industrial environment led to awareness that “there should be a better way”.
Following university graduation in environmental geography 1964 (the word “environment” being a vague term to most people t that time) he combined “early Internet/radio” with geology, employed by the GSC (Geological Services of Canada) on large-scale mapping throughout the Canadian Arctic… a life-changing experience.
Chair
Claude Deveau, Tanco
Claude recently retired from Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada (Tanco) after 36 years of service as plant metallurgist. Over his career, he spent much of his time testing and optimizing gravity circuits, complex LCT deposit mineral flotation processes, dense media circuits, and most recently, ore sorting processes treating LCT ores. As one could expect,
Claude still dabbles in mineral processing.
Claude (P.Eng) graduated from Technical University of Nova Scotia (now DalTech) with a bachelor’s in mining engineering in 1987.