NextOre Ltd closes $5.2m Series B growth capital raising

Sydney-based mining technology business, NextOre Ltd (NextOre), founded by CSIRO and industry partners, has completed a Series B growth funding round of $5.2m.

The Series B funding round was cornerstoned by existing shareholder RFC Ambrian Funds Management through its newly formed QCM Fund.

RFC Ambrian Funds Management chief investment officer, Stefan Skorut said: “NextOre sits at the intersection of decarbonisation and critical minerals. Its bulk ore sorting technology is best-in-class, enabling mine sites where it is deployed to dramatically lessen their environmental footprint by reducing the consumption of electricity and water and the discharge of emissions and tailings. This in turn achieves substantial step changes in cost savings and revenue for the miners. Our investment in NextOre supports the technological progress essential to unlock critical minerals for the energy transition.”

NextOre is the global exclusive supplier of magnetic resonance analyser products which are the results of 20 years of research and development. CSIRO invented and scaled the technology between 2004-2017 before forming NextOre with founding partners RFC Ambrian and Worley.

Formed in 2017, NextOre has rapidly grown to be a differentiated supplier and leader in the emerging field of advanced sensors applied to mine production The technology benefits from highly precise measurements without the use of ionising radiation commonly used in other types of sensors. By measuring mineralogical content in seconds with industry-leading precision, miners can identify and separate waste from good ore in real-time. With commercial contracts in Chile, Zambia, Philippines and Australia, NextOre’s products have been deployed by global copper producers to increase efficiency and reduce energy, water and chemical usage and waste. In 2022, the largest bulk sorting systems ever built at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi mine in Zambia was tested and demonstrated to work at the scale of the world’s largest copper mines.

NextOre’s analyser products are being deployed for real-time mineral detection of ore either on conveyor or carried in mining haul trucks. The scope of NextOre’s solutions has expanded rapidly, and NextOre is now offering turn-key bulk ore sorting plants to global miners. Funding from the series B capital raising will be used to support the working capital requirements for growing orders of bulk sorting systems along with increasing staffing across the business to scale with growing opportunities and to apply bulk sensing and sorting solutions more broadly in iron ore, gold and nickel mines.

RFC Ambrian Funds Management
RFC Ambrian Funds Management is a manager of institutional funds targeting high conviction opportunities across critical minerals and decarbonisation technology. Our purpose is to deliver impact investments that responsibly contribute to decarbonisation while earning superior risk adjusted returns. We actively seek exposure to critical mineral assets which are well positioned to benefit disproportionately from the decarbonisation thematic and emerging technologies with a high potential to add value in a carbon constrained paradigm.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency, aiming to solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology, and is one of the largest and most diverse scientific research organisations in the world. CSIRO works with industry, government and the research community to turn science into solutions to address the challenges facing Australia and the world, including food security and quality; sustainable energy and resources; health and wellbeing; resilient and valuable environments; and future industries. CSIRO is the inventor of the magnetic resonance technology and NextOre’s largest shareholder.

Worley
Worley is a global company headquartered in Australia and our purpose is delivering a more sustainable world. We are a leading global provider of professional project and asset services in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors. As a knowledge-based service provider, we use our capabilities to support our customers in reducing their emissions and moving towards a low carbon future. Worley Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange [ASX:WOR]. Further information is available at worley.com.

Awards and Grants
2022 Mines and Money Technology Company of the Year
2021 KCA Award for Best Licensing deal
2020 Australian Technology Competition winner (mining category)
2019 Physical sciences fund grant award of $1.07m from the NSW Department of the Chief Scientist and Engineer
2018 IMARC Pitch battle winner