BASF Venture Capital (BVC) will lead the investment round in IntelliSense, with participation from UK-based technology angel investors including cloud software-focused Dr Steve Garnett and former Sage chief executive Stephen Kelly.

The investment round comes less than a month after BASF revealed plans to partner with IntelliSense.io on its digital optimisation platform, with the aim of combining the companies' chemical, mineral processing and digital expertise.

"The IntelliSense.io team offers a flexible and future-proof system which can help to optimise the metal lifecycle from extraction to processing to disposal," said Markus Solibieda, Managing Director of BASF Venture Capital.

"We believe in the IntelliSense.io team and the potential of this technology, and we are happy to support the further development and distribution of this innovative solution with our investment."

The unified technology platform, which can be configured for individual sites within three months, supports each mining process, such as grinding, thickening, flotation and pumping, with an Optimisation as a Service (OaaS) application which predicts and simulates future performance.

It also includes built-in simulation tools that can be used to test alternative operating conditions, train staff and run non-intrusive ‘what if' scenarios.

"Miners are currently operating within sustainability and remote operational constraints,"  Sam G. Bose, founder and chief executive of IntelliSense.io told Mining Magazine.

"They are looking for innovative solutions that can work within these constraints while delivering value with short lead times. The BASF IntelliSense.io partnership has developed 'out of the box" applications that can address process specific optimisation operating within the constrained operating conditions resulting in improved AI adoption overall."

Bose added that AI will help the mining sector achieve its sustainability goals.

"We have seen the impact that AI technologies can have on specific mining processes. Reduced consumption of energy for pumping, grinding while improving solids percentages in thickeners results in increased water recovery and overall optimisation of natural resources usage across the mining value chain."

"For us, it is clear that new technologies can enable mining companies to become sustainable in a demonstrable way."