Mineral exploration knows the state of the art in 3D data. Whether through aerial LiDAR, interferometry, or other ground-based methods, the mining, metals, materials industry has long tapped these solutions for elevation and volumetric data. The industry is among the most savvy, experienced consumers of geospatial data that Array Labs has encountered in a two-year campaign of comprehensive, cross-sector commercial BD and sales engagement efforts – which include some of the world’s most valuable, technologically sophisticated companies.

The mineral exploration industry routinely integrates 3D data and its many derivatives into enterprise GIS systems, core workflows, and key decision-making functions. As such, this sophistication makes the sector both demanding and discerning: new technologies are adopted only when they can prove clear advantages in cost, coverage, frequency, and safety – or some combination thereof.

Array Labs proposes to advance all of these factors simultaneously through its novel technology architecture and radar-based imaging system. For the mining sector, the appeal of all-weather, wide-area 3D imaging is immediate and tangible: coverage that extends across entire operations, persistence through cloud and darkness, and volumetric fidelity without the cost and constraints of airborne campaigns. This is why some of the industry’s most recognizable names — including one of the world’s largest mining majors, now among Array Labs’ earliest and largest customers — are leaning in.

For these companies, the value proposition spans the full lifecycle: early-stage exploration efforts, reconciling stockpile volumes in near real time, monitoring slope stability and tailings facilities with less reliance on on-site inspections, mapping exploration corridors across politically or physically inaccessible terrain, and integrating persistent 3D updates directly into enterprise GIS and planning systems.

But enthusiasm does not erase the challenges. The pitfalls are real: some parameters are bounded by orbital geometry and early constellation capacity; coverage is still constrained by tasking availability; dense vegetation complicates DSM accuracy; and integration into established workflows requires proof of reliability against ground-truth references. Mining companies — arguably the most sophisticated geospatial consumers Array Labs engages with — are well positioned to stress-test these capabilities.

In this presentation, we will outline both the promise and the pitfalls of orbital 3D radar imaging for mineral exploration. The promise is clear: persistent, global, all-weather 3D coverage that can extend across entire operations and integrate directly into enterprise workflows. The pitfalls are equally real: questions of accuracy, coverage, and integration that must be validated in the field.

This is not speculative. It is already being tested today with the industry — including users of Array Labs’ first production 3D satellite imaging system, scheduled to enter service in 2026. Together we are learning where orbital 3D radar imaging delivers immediate value, where it must mature, and how it can complement rather than replace existing methods.

The goal of this session is to ground the discussion in both operational reality and technical rigor: to show where orbital SAR-based 3D will immediately prove useful, where capabilities still need to mature, and how mining and mineral exploration firms — among the most discerning geospatial data users in the world — are shaping its evolution.