Hypermine closes seed funding round to maximise mineral recovery and minimise environmental impact

With demand for critical minerals like copper surging, Hypermine's laser-based hyperspectral mineralogy sensor, developed at VTT, boosts decision accuracy by hundredfold, improves profit by up to 10%, and slashes energy and water use.

ESPOO, Finland, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hypermine spinout of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has today announced the successful closure of its seed funding round. The funding round consists of private equity investments from Stephen Industries and Sage Enterprises, as well as an IPR investment from VTT. The funding will be used to strengthen Hypermine's team, support current customers and acquire new customers, as well as achieve profitable growth.

The demand for minerals is rapidly increasing across multiple industries, driven by global urbanisation, the clean energy transition, and growing agricultural needs. Critical materials like iron and aluminum are essential for construction, while agriculture faces rising pressure to secure non-renewable minerals such as potash and phosphates for fertiliser production.

Clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles and battery storage systems, are driving unprecedented demand for minerals such as copper, cobalt, and lithium. Among them, copper has become a particular concern. Analysts warn that global supply is falling short of projected needs, raising alarms about the impact on climate transition targets. The shortage is influencing geopolitical strategies and prompting renewed attention to the role of mining technology. Rather than relying solely on increased exploration, the industry is looking to innovation in mineral processing and extraction methods to address the growing gap between supply and demand.

Finding ore is not enough, however. The lower the quality of ore, meaning the less of the minerals it contains, the more must be mined. This results in more waste, higher consumption of energy and water, poorer efficiency due to low recovery rates, and increased cost. For example, in Chile, the average coper ore grade has declined by 30% over 15 years. 

Hypermine's technology, which combines laser illumination, hyperspectral sensing, and proprietary machine-learning algorithms, allows mine operators to sort the valuable minerals from the remaining mined material at the earliest stage of the mining process, improving resource recovery while minimizing the environmental impact. Mines can improve their profitability by 3-10% with the technology while extending their lifetime. Furthermore, Hypermine's technology helps cut down energy use by 10%, and it can reduce ore flotation acids and water usage by 15%.

"Meeting society's material needs without damaging the environment is not an easy undertaking. We want to make mining more efficient, which is key for mining companies to extract more minerals at lower costs, while also minimizing environmental impact and reducing the use of water, acids, and energy. We've already proven our technology in multiple different environments and have vast market potential. We are continuing to partner with major players in the global mining industry and have ambitious growth plans," says Markku Makkonen, CEO of Hypermine.

"Hypermine is truly a breakthrough technology for the mining industry," said Jake Greenberg, Managing Director at Sage Enterprises. "In the same way that sonar allowed navies to see enemy submarines, Hypermine's laser-based hyperspectral sensors allow mining companies to see the minerals in their orebodies in real time, improving decision-making accuracy to ensure that valuable ore gets processed while waste rock goes to the dump. This means the future of mining will be significantly more sustainable and more profitable."

Hypermine's breakthrough innovation, broadband laser illumination, enables revealing mineral contents of ore surfaces remotely and under any environmental conditions. This makes it possible to use the technology already during the excavation stage, improving mining decisions significantly.

"Currently, decision-making is based on inaccurate 3D block models that represent large sections of the mine, covering between 3,000 and 10,000 tonnes of material. Hypermine enables decision-making at truck load resolution, approximately 100 to 400 tonnes, making ore grade identification hundred times more accurate," elaborates Mikhail Mekhrengin, CTO of Hypermine.

Hypermine's technology has been co-developed and validated with a leading mining company. The Hypermine product has ongoing pilots in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada. The technology's implementations in mines include, e.g., rock face, muck pile, loading, and hauling.

"We pioneer cutting-edge technology to support mining providers in their most critical operations - from the excavation to ore pre-processing. Combining innovative techniques, precision engineering, and industry-leading expertise, we deliver reliable, high-performance solutions designed to perform with confidence and safety, even under the toughest mining conditions," says Andrei Rupasov, CPO of Hypermine.

"The mining industry is facing declining yields and increasing environmental scrutiny globally while demand for minerals is set to increase," said Tor-Oskar Karlberg, Investment Director at Stephen Industries. "As an investor, we're focused on high-impact technologies with strong teams and potential to grow internationally. Hypermine fits this commitment and we're confident in the team's vision. We're excited to support Hypermine on their mission as they scale their technology and business."

MEDIA MATERIAL (Photographed by Timo Kauppila)
PHOTO 1: Andrei Rupasov, Mikhail Mekhrengin and Markku Makkonen:
PHOTO 2: Hypermine product:
PHOTO 3: Markku Makkonen:
PHOTO 4: Mikhail Mekhrengin:
PHOTO 5: Andrei Rupasov:

For additional information:
www.hypermine.fi

Hypermine
Markku Makkonen, CEO
[email protected], tel. +358 40 5588554

VTT
Kari Rönkä, Executive Vice President, Sensing solutions
[email protected], tel. +358 40 7795831

CONTACT:

Further information on VTT:
Paula Bergqvist, Communications Manager
+358 20 722 5161, [email protected]
www.vttresearch.com

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