AI Approach

BMIN adopted an AI-driven exploration strategy to address the declining global mineral discovery rate and unlock Botswana’s broader mineral potential. With most near-surface deposits depleted and demand for critical minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, PGMs, and rare earths rising, the Company recognised that innovative methods were necessary to explore efficiently beneath sand and other cover and at scale. Botswana’s geology, famous for diamonds but also rich in underexplored copper-nickel-PGM terranes, provides an excellent testing ground for such innovation.

In August 2024, BMIN initiated a nationwide AI exploration programme using Planetary AI’s Xplore prospectivity platform on its extensive historical database, the second largest diamond dataset in Botswana. Covering approximately 95,000 km², it includes 375,000 km of airborne geophysics, 606 ground surveys, 228,000 soil samples, and 32,000 drill logs. By integrating this with open-source data (such as from the Geological Survey of Botswana), the AI system aimed to identify both new kimberlite targets and concealed polymetallic mineralisation.

Figure 1: Airborne geophysics coverage Botswana (Botswana Geoscience Institute, 2025)

The Xplore platform employs semantic technology and machine learning to interpret geological data within its context, mimicking expert reasoning. AI models cleaned and enriched decades of data, then applied over 57 mineral deposit models to produce prospectivity maps that pinpoint high-priority areas. This “glass-box” approach not only ranked targets but also explained the geological logic behind each.

Industry practice shows that AI screening significantly reduces costs and time, allowing targeted fieldwork in the most promising zones and compressing years of analysis into months. Drilling success rates have increased, while discovery expenses have fallen by up to 80%. The company now features an AI-enhanced portfolio and an “AI-ready” data room, enhancing its ability to attract exploration partners and investors.