France-based exploration technology company Sercel has said its wireless WiNG land acquisition nodal system has been deployed to a mining exploration programme at the First Quantum Minerals-owned Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia.

The company said a 30-kilometre WiNG node array was deployed to acquire passive seismic data over nine months at the mine and the adjacent Solwezi basement dome.

It claimed the WiNG wireless nodal acquisition system has a "lightweight form factor and compact design," which makes it simple to deploy compared to conventional seismometers. By using an ultrasensitive advanced digital sensor, the technology enables "detection of even the weakest signals."

It said the programme aims to explore the crustal structure of the mine area using background seismicity, including ambient noise, mine blasting, local and regional earthquake and teleseismic events.

The programme is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Mines of Zambia, First Quantum Minerals and Oxford University's Earth Sciences Department. It is part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Copper Basin Exploration Science (CuBES) project.

Emmanuelle Dubu, Sercel's chief executive officer, said the project's goal is to "help meet tomorrow's global resource exploration needs."