Searching for gold hidden by a drug lord, exploring archaeological sites, and uncovering mass graves from post-World War II are some of the unique challenges the software has helped solve.

And customers continue to take it far beyond what the groundbreaking technology was originally designed for.

"What has become very clear for us is that if you put great technology in the hands of smart users, they find new ways to apply it and that is incredibly powerful," says Seequent CEO, Graham Grant.

"Our customers work to develop vital mineral resources, source groundwater or renewable energy and to design and deliver resilient infrastructure safely, sustainably, on time and within budget - all while lowering their impact on the planet."

Seequent, a Bentley company, is a global leader in geoscience software helping to solve major mining, civil, environmental, and energy challenges worldwide.

Every day, they support customers in over 120 countries to work more sustainably and make better decisions across the lifecycle of their projects - with the help of seriously smart technology.

Building a better understanding of our earth

"For the industries we work in and for societies in general we're largely driven by what we can see," says Grant. "That is not true for the underground. We can't see it. It's largely unmeasured and it's largely not understood."

Seequent technology delivers a picture of the subsurface. It enables teams to explore, build, monitor and maintain a lifetime digital twin. That way they better understand evolving project risks and opportunities and can make more informed decisions, faster.

"We're constantly exploring new ways to provide technologies and solutions that offer unequalled opportunities to help geo-professionals solve workflow challenges, improve operational efficiency, and deliver greater value for companies and our customers," says Grant.

"Our Leapfrog solution was originally created to better understand site geology for the mining sector. We soon realized that we'd built horizontal capability that could transition  to other industries, hence the evolution of our work into water, geothermal, and civil infrastructure."

Geoscience challenges will only increase in the future as populations grow, societies evolve and the need for resilient infrastructure, clean water and renewable energy continues to rise.

The crucial role of the geoscientist is to connect and work together to adapt and accelerate their understanding of the earth, technology, science and communities to help bring innovation and light to these challenges.

"I think we're at the beginning of a new tomorrow as it relates to geoscience tech," says Grant.

"It has really come into its own as a way to unlock a greater understanding of the subsurface and to better inform our earth challenges so that outcomes for people, societies, and the planet can be that much better."

Combining forces with customers

As geoscientists face new challenges, Seequent is continuously evolving at the forefront of technology to support them. From cloud accessibility and 3D modelling to digital collaboration, everything is geared towards building a more resilient future.

"People have a lot of interaction with the Earth," says Seequent's lead product owner, Rachel Murtagh. "Our solutions sit in a space where we can influence that, and I think this is critical."

"Our customers always want things to be done faster, better and more intelligently and that's exactly what we like to do."

Seequent has had a truly transformative year. Its acquisition by Bentley Systems in June 2021 aligned sophisticated technologies that intersect the built world above ground with the uncertainty below, creating more complete infrastructure digital twins.

Since then, they have had the strategic acquisitions of four international geoscience software companies: Aarhus GeoSoftware, Imago, Minalytix, and Ar2Tech.

Imago helps mining companies unlock value and better manage the high volume and size of their geological imagery. Collectively, they bring brand new possibilities for customers worldwide - all who are trying to keep pace and who can see technology as the way forward.

"We're nothing if not adaptable and there's just so much opportunity that recent changes and acquisitions have brought for us," says Murtagh. "It's all promising and it's all moving forward."

Solutions to support exploration boom

As the North American mining industry experiences a remarkable period of expansion in exploration, mining companies are rapidly turning to technology for support.

"We're seeing an accelerated uptake across our suite of solutions including mining-specific MX Deposit, Leapfrog, Imago and Central," says Seequent mining exploration director, Rob Ferguson.

Being able to capture the right data and harness it effectively proves that companies are committed to sustainable and energy efficient mining operations. 

"Technology also empowers companies to ensure compliance with increasingly stringent regulations, set new environmental, social and governance (ESG) ‘gold' standards, and deliver demonstrable sustainability efforts," says Ferguson.

Seequent's dedicated global team of over 650 are deeply aligned with where their customers are going and work hard to support them. "But we should also lead," says Grant.

"That means anticipating, thinking ahead, looking over the horizon to determine - what's coming next?"

Together with Bentley, Seequent's long-term commitment remains to deliver collaborative technologies in support of a sustainable and resilient future.

"Anything we can do to make our customers' lives better, faster and more economical and that can offer real, measurable benefits to the world - that's our goal."

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