The Council for Geoscience (CGS) and BHP have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to advance South Africa’s economic development through collaborative geoscientific research and exploration.
The MoU outlines and establishes a framework for impactful collaboration as it pertains to joint exploration initiatives, research projects and publications. Through this collaboration, CGS and BHP will explore opportunities to work together in areas including geoscientific research, data processing and the 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.
Furthermore, the MoU will enable both parties to contribute important geoscientific data to the Open Subsurface Data Universe, 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.
Commenting on the signing of the MoU, CEO of CGS Mosa Mabuza said: “We are pleased to have signed an MoU with BHP, a global mining company that has a proven track record in 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.”
BHP Group exploration officer Tim O’Connor added, “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.”
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.