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    DIGITAL backs Novamera Surgical Mining: permitting and design notes for engineers

    March 4, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    DIGITAL backs Novamera Surgical Mining: permitting and design notes for engineers

    First reported on International Mining – News

    30 Second Briefing

    DIGITAL is committing C$4.0 million in co-investment to Novamera Inc. to advance the next phase of its Surgical Mining™ system, an AI-guided, narrow-vein extraction method aimed at low‑disturbance recovery of copper and rare earth element orebodies in North America. The funding will support field deployment of downhole sensing, directional drilling and real‑time orebody imaging to selectively mine steeply dipping, small‑scale deposits that are uneconomic for conventional stoping. Novamera will also work with Ontario regulators to create a First-of-a-Kind permitting pathway tailored to this minimal-footprint approach.

    Technical Brief

    • DIGITAL’s C$4.0 million co-investment is structured specifically to progress the next project phase.
    • Funding is targeted at copper and rare earth element applications, not bulk commodities.
    • Novamera’s Surgical Mining™ is explicitly framed as “low-impact”, aimed at reduced surface and waste disturbance.

    Our Take

    Among the 264 keyword-matched pieces on copper and critical mineral resources in our database, very few involve Ontario-specific permitting innovations, so Novamera’s Surgical Mining pathway could become a reference case for other small-footprint projects in the province.

    A C$4 million co-investment at this early stage signals that DIGITAL is treating Surgical Mining as a scalable platform rather than a one-off project, which may attract juniors in Canada and the United States looking to access narrow-vein copper or rare earth element mineralisation without committing to full-scale conventional development.

    With over 2,000 tag-matched ‘Projects’ and ‘Sustainability’ items, most critical mineral coverage still centres on large open pits or block caves, so a successful Ontario permitting template for Novamera’s approach would give regulators a concrete alternative framework for low-disturbance extraction in North America.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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