University of Exeter spin-out secures investment

Jim Williams, Robert Pell (Founder), Xiaoyu Yan (UoE Academic Advisor), Nick Russill Image from the University of Exeter.

Minviro, a spin-out company focused on environmental sustainability in the mining space and founded by experts from the University of Exeter, has secured investment to help develop the business.

Founded by Robert Pell, who completed his doctorate at University of Exeter's Camborne School of Mines where he developed ways to predict the environmental impact of mining projects during the early planning and development stages, Minviro has since applied these approaches to a number of commercial projects around the world.

The company received a ?125,000 investment from Sustainable Ventures, who develop and invest in sustainable businesses

The company received a ?125,000 investment from Sustainable Ventures, who develop and invest in sustainable businesses; they will also provide support and guidance to Minviro through their Sustainable Accelerator Program.

"With the support provided by the University's Set Squared and Innovate UK's iCURE program, the Minviro team has taken this technology from lab to successful commercialization at break neck speed," Jim Williams, the university's research commercialization manager, said in a release.

"It's very exciting to see a new generation of mining technology emerging from the University of Exeter in Cornwall, a county that continues to export mining innovation across the globe. Minviro is an excellent example of the University of Exeter's expertise in environmental intelligence driving positive environmental and economic impact on the international stage."

"We see that Minviro's proprietary assessment tool will bring real disruption to the environmental performance of the mining industry," Susannah Mcclintock, investment director at Sustainable Ventures, added.

"We believe that Minviro's value proposition is relevant to all stakeholders involved in mining exploration, which provides opportunities for rapid growth in this market. Minviro's life-cycle assessment tool has the potential to become a market standard and to create a step-change in the environmental performance of this sector."

Robert Pell concluded: "By providing environmental performance insight at this stage of mining projects, it is possible to assess a range of project options and optimize the project to minimize impacts such as carbon emissions, water consumption, dust emissions, or land use change. We want to ensure that this approach and technology is accessible for all future mining and metal projects.

This is acutely important as material use is expected to double by 2060, with metals expected to grow fastest."

(This article first appeared in the Canadian MiningJournal)