)
Saudi Arabian mining company Maaden has enlisted Adelaide-based space exploration group Fleet Space Technologies to help unlock the mineral potential of the Middle Eastern kingdom as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 project.
The agreement, a joint venture between Fleet Space and Saudi company Tahreez, involves the exploration of up to 12,000 square kilometres of Maaden’s priority projects across the Arabian Shield near the Red Sea, through which the partners will create high-resolution, real-time 3D subsurface imaging up to 7km deep.
The Saudi agreement comes on the heels of Fleet Space earlier this year partnering with natural hydrogen explorer Koloma to accelerate the US company’s plans to find scalable resources of the green-energy gas globally.
Fleet Space says the four-year contract with Maaden represents a significant expansion of its operational presence in the Middle East following its newly minted joint-venture partnership with Tahreez, announced in January.
Through this contract, Maaden plans to deploy Fleet Space’s flagship ExoSphere technology across its tenement portfolio, including real-time Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT), active seismic techniques, and Fleet Space’s proprietary AI-driven drill targeting.
“This exploration contract with the Fleet Space and Tahreez JV marks the beginning of a new chapter in the future of mineral exploration - one where the latest advances in space technology, real-time geophysics, and AI converge to build the mineral supply chains of tomorrow,” says Bob Wilt, CEO of Maaden.
“By integrating Fleet Space’s cutting-edge, space-enabled exploration stack with our world-class operations, Maaden aims to set a new global benchmark in exploration data intelligence and build a faster, smarter, and more sustainable path forward for the global mining sector, fully aligned with the Kingdom’s bold transformation under Vision 2030.”
The Vision 2030 initiative is an ambitious plan for economic and social transformation in Saudi Arabia to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and diversify the economy.
Fleet Space’s ExoSphere platform, which is used by mining giants such as Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and Barrick Gold Corporation, leverages the company’s network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, smart ground sensors and advanced AI models to deliver real-time 3D subsurface insights and AI-enabled drill targets to highly remote field teams in days.
The company says this enables more agile and data-driven decision making while improving campaign efficiency at scale.
“How the most ambitious global mining companies use data to design and execute their exploration strategies is undergoing a phase transition,” says Flavia Tata Nardini, co-founder and CEO of Fleet Space Technologies.
“Space-enabled, real-time exploration is unlocking unprecedented speed, reach, and data quality - transforming mineral discovery into a dynamic, data intelligence-led system.
“Similar leaps to real-time data have produced breakthroughs like commercial space travel, autonomous vehicles and AI, among many others. With this partnership, Maaden is set to unlock the most valuable untapped frontier of the data revolution: the global mining sector.”
Fleet Space and Tahreez plan to rapidly deploy ExoSphere at scale across Maaden’s projects and opportunity zones in the Middle East to identify potential targets for future development.
“What excites me most about this collaboration is the advanced mining technology expertise it will bring to the kingdom,” says Francesco Fidicaro, managing director of Tahreez.
“By embedding cutting-edge, space-enabled technologies into the heart of Saudi exploration, we’re also building something far more powerful: a generation of Saudi men and women equipped with the skills, mindset and tools to lead this sector into the future.
“This is how you make mining the third pillar of the Saudi economy - not just with innovation, but with people who can wield it to drive meaningful, long-term progress.”
The Maaden agreement follows the Adelaide company’s recent acquisition of HiSeis, a company that specialises in hard rock seismic technology, offering high-resolution subsurface imaging that aids in the identification of mineral deposits.
The company says that by integrating the active seismic solutions of HiSeis into ExoSphere’s exploration platform, Fleet Space is pushing the boundaries of end-to-end mineral exploration by connecting more geophysical techniques with satellite connectivity, which it sees as a critical step to building world-class mining operations of the future.
In 2026, Fleet Space will deploy the lunar variant of its ExoSphere technology, SPIDER, on the Moon to inform future mission planning with a deeper, data-driven understanding of the lunar subsurface. That mission is being undertaken in partnership with US-based space transportation company Firefly Aerospace.
Fleet Space Technologies lifted its valuation to $800 million following a $150 million Series D funding round last year that was led by the growth investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Canada.
)
