Six organisations developing innovative technologies to help tackle some of the copper industry’s biggest challenges have been selected as finalists for the Copper to the World Innovation Hour, where they will pitch their solutions live before industry leaders this September.

As global demand for copper continues to accelerate, driven by the energy transition, electrification, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, the industry faces growing pressure to increase supply while improving productivity, reducing energy consumption, minimising water use and lowering its environmental footprint.

Innovation will play a critical role in meeting that challenge.

Taking place as part of Copper to the World on Wednesday, September 2, Innovation Hour provides a platform for emerging technologies, bold ideas and practical solutions that can help unlock future copper supply while improving productivity, efficiency and sustainability across the industry, event organisers say.

Following a competitive selection process, six finalists have been chosen to present their innovations to an audience of mining executives, technology providers, researchers, investors and government representatives.

The 2026 Innovation Hour finalists are:

• CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency, developing innovative technologies to help the resources sector improve productivity, reduce energy and water use, and unlock future mineral supply. Its latest sensing platform, the Mineralogical and Elemental Analyser (MEA), provides real-time mineralogical and elemental insights to support smarter, more sustainable mining operations;
• Konatec is a Chilean technology company developing advanced process optimisation solutions for copper mining. Its proprietary online rheology technologies provide real-time insights to improve mineral processing, increasing recovery, water and energy efficiency, and reducing process variability;
• NGMX commercialises an innovative technology for recovering copper from low-grade ores and mineral waste. Developed by InnovEco Australia, the low-energy, low-reagent solution delivers high metal recovery with a minimal environmental footprint, helping miners unlock greater value from low-grade deposits and tailings;
• ME Elecmetal is a global company with more than 100 years of experience supporting mining operations through wear solutions, grinding media and digital technologies. Its flagship innovation, SAG DTWIN, provides real-time operational intelligence to optimise SAG grinding, improving productivity and resource efficiency;
• iottag delivers real-time operational intelligence solutions for mining, using Rock Fragmentation Analysis to improve copper mine efficiency and equipment uptime. Its technology helps prevent downtime, optimise blasting performance, and monitor haul cycle times to improve productivity and reduce operational bottlenecks; and
• AiSpanner is a Perth-based start-up helping asset owners maximise performance by delivering shutdown maintenance safely, on time and within budget. Its connected Turnaround and Maintenance Lifecycle solution helps copper operations improve planning, collaboration and execution to reduce downtime and increase productivity.

Together, the finalists represent a diverse range of innovations spanning artificial intelligence, advanced processing, digital technologies, equipment optimisation and resource efficiency, each focused on helping the industry unlock future copper supply while improving operational and environmental performance, organisers say.

Austmine Chief Executive Officer, Tony Davis, said the quality of submissions reflected the strength of innovation emerging across Australia’s METS sector and research community.

He said: “Copper is fundamental to the technologies powering our future, but meeting growing global demand will take new ways of thinking about how we discover, mine and process it. Innovation Hour gives real ideas and technologies a platform to prove themselves. This year’s finalists are tackling genuine industry challenges, and we’re excited to showcase their work to the global copper community at Copper to the World.”

Each finalist will deliver a five-minute live pitch before an expert judging panel, with the winner announced during the conference.

Hosted by Austmine in partnership with the South Australian Government’s Department for Energy and Mining, Copper to the World, to be held September 2-3, in Adelaide, Australia, will bring together mining companies, METS, researchers, investors and government from around the world to explore the technologies, partnerships and innovations shaping the future of the global copper industry.

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