Iron Bridge is an unincorporated joint venture between Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Iron Bridge and Formosa Steel IB. The agreement is the first commercial application of IMDEX's Blast Dog.

The agreement provides for the staged utilisation of Blast Dogs which IMDEX estimates will generate revenue of AUS$13 million (US$9 million) over the initial term.

The Blast Dog is a commodity agnostic blast hole sensing and physicals measurement technology and is semi-autonomously deployed for logging material properties and blast hole characteristics at high spatial density across the bench and mine.

IMDEX CEO, Paul House, said the company's win of the Iron Bridge scope was a defining moment for IMDEX. "This is homegrown technology designed to provide meaningful, quantifiable benefits for the mining industry. We are not aware of any other technology that has the capacity to produce the same quantity and quality of pre-blast rock data and provide as large an impact on downstream processes.

"The commercial success of Blast Dog reflected in today's announcement is a credit to IMDEX's R&D team and their drive to make a difference in the mining industry."

IMDEX chief geoscientist Dave Lawie added that the company overcame many obstacles, including mine access issues caused by COVID-19, to deliver the Blast Dog project in Australia and the Americas: "Today's announcement is exciting because we know what Blast Dog can produce.

"It is recognition for five years of intense effort spanning the USA, Queensland, Western Australia and Chile in conjunction with our METS Ignited project partners.

"In addition to the work for the Iron Bridge joint venture, we are involved in ongoing, pre-commercial trials across various operations in Australia, Canada, and Chile." 

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