What Geonics does

Geonics Limited, incorporated in 1962 and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, designs, manufactures, and services electromagnetic (EM) geophysical instrumentation for non-invasive subsurface investigation. The company's product portfolio spans four core instrument families — frequency-domain Ground Conductivity Meters (EM31-MK2, EM34-3, EM38-MK2), time-domain Metal Detectors for UXO and environmental hazards (EM61-MK2A, EM61HH-MK2A, EM61S, EM63-3D-MK2), the modular PROTEM time-domain system with TEM47/TEM57-MK2/TEM67 transmitters and the cost-reduced G-TEM, and VLF receivers (EM16, EM16R, TX27) — supplemented by borehole probes (EM39, Gamma39, EM39S, BH43-3), DAS70 data acquisition systems with integrated GPS, and proprietary DAT/GSPX7 software. Depth-of-exploration ranges from near-surface (1.5 m via EM38-MK2) to deep resource work (>1000 m via TEM67) and borehole logging to 2 km via BH43-3.

The company sells and rents instruments directly to environmental consultants, military/UXO clearance contractors, precision agriculture and soil-salinity researchers, archaeologists, hydrogeologists, mining and exploration geophysicists, and geotechnical engineers across global markets. Revenue mechanics combine hardware sales (new and used equipment), a global rental fleet with calibration between rentals, a rental-to-purchase credit program (up to 80% credit during rental, 50% within six months), bundled software, and recurring calibration and technical support services. Distribution is direct via a named in-house sales, production/service, shipping, and finance team, complemented by reselling partnerships with Geosoft (Oasis montaj), Golden Software, Geomar, Interpex, HydroGeophysics Group, and Petros EiKon that embed Geonics data into the dominant geoscience software ecosystem.

Geonics is privately held, Canadian-owned, and has remained independent since founding with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, parent entities, or acquisitions; the only recent material moves are the 2023 product launches of the EM61-MK2A ergonomic refresh and the G-TEM lower-cost time-domain system. No AI/ML, patents, awards, certifications, or public financial disclosures are reported in the available sources.

Name

Geonics

Legal name

Geonics Limited

Website

https://geonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Geonics Limited, founded 1962 in Mississauga, Canada, designs and manufactures electromagnetic geophysical instruments — ground conductivity meters, metal detectors, time-domain and VLF systems, and borehole probes — selling and renting them globally to environmental, UXO, agriculture, groundwater, mining, and geotechnical customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geophysical Instrumentation

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533)

akta.pro primary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK), Geotechnical Investigation & Site Characterization (Boreholes, In-situ Testing, Lab Testing) (IMAFAOAG), Geotechnical Site Investigation & Engineering Geology (Borings, Lab Testing) (EUAHAFAE), Geothermal Environmental & Regulatory Services (Permitting, Monitoring, Induced Seismicity, Water Management) (EUAMAEAL), Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring (Settlement, Inclinometers, Piezometers) (IMAFAOAH)

Keywords

• Electromagnetic geophysical instrumentation
• Ground conductivity meters
• Time domain metal detectors
• Subsurface exploration equipment
• UXO detection instruments

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Electromagnetic Instrumentation Sales: Geonics designs, manufactures, and sells electromagnetic geophysical instruments including ground conductivity meters, metal detectors, time domain systems, VLF receivers, and borehole probes. Each instrument includes necessary hardware components and software for data acquisition and processing. Instruments are available for purchase as new or used equipment.
2. Software Sales and Licensing: Geonics develops and sells proprietary data acquisition and processing software. Software is included with instrument purchases for instruments with digital output; programs for analog instruments are available separately. Program updates introducing minor changes are provided free of charge; new program versions with major changes are subject to an upgrade charge.
3. Equipment Rentals: All Geonics instrumentation is available on a rental basis from a large inventory that is regularly maintained, fully serviced, and calibrated after every rental with available hardware and software upgrades. Rentals include product training for unfamiliar customers and are supported with the same customer service as purchases. A rental credit program allows up to 80% of rental charges to be applied toward purchase of the same model.
4. Customer Support and Calibration Services: Geonics provides technical support services including service announcements for current product performance issues, FAQ resources, and technical support staff access. The company services and calibrates rental equipment and offers ongoing support for DOS-based data processing programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Geonics Limited designs, manufactures, and services electromagnetic geophysical instrumentation for non-invasive subsurface investigation. Its product portfolio includes frequency-domain ground conductivity meters, time-domain metal detectors, PROTEM time-domain systems with transmitters, VLF receivers, borehole probes, and supporting data acquisition systems and proprietary software. Instruments are sold or rented to environmental consultants, geologists, archaeologists, groundwater explorers, agricultural researchers, and military/UXO clearance contractors.

Product overview

Geonics Limited offers a comprehensive portfolio of electromagnetic geophysical instrumentation for subsurface exploration and analysis. The product range centers on three main instrument families: Ground Conductivity Meters (EM31-MK2, EM34-3, EM38-MK2) providing frequency domain measurement from shallow 1.5m to 60m depth; Time Domain Metal Detectors (EM61-MK2A, EM61HH-MK2A, EM61S, EM63-3D-MK2) for detection of metallic targets including UXO and environmental hazards; and Time Domain Systems including PROTEM receiver with TEM47/TEM57-MK2/TEM67 transmitters for deep exploration from 5m to over 1000m depth. The portfolio also includes VLF Systems (EM16, EM16R, TX27) for reconnaissance, and Borehole Probes (EM39, Gamma39, EM39S, BH43-3) for subsurface logging. Supporting infrastructure includes DAS70-AR2 and DAS70-ML Data Acquisition Systems with integrated GPS support, and DAT/GSPX7 software for data collection, processing, and modeling. The modular design approach allows system configurations from near-surface environmental studies to deep resource exploration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EM31-MK2 Ground Conductivity Meter A frequency-domain ground conductivity meter measuring apparent conductivity and magnetic susceptibility to an effective depth of 6 metres. Used by environmental consultants for spatial site characterization.
• EM34-3 Ground Conductivity Meter A frequency-domain ground conductivity meter providing variable depth of exploration to an effective maximum of 60 metres. Supports measurement of apparent conductivity and magnetic susceptibility for geotechnical and groundwater surveys.
• EM38-MK2 Ground Conductivity Meter A frequency-domain ground conductivity meter measuring apparent conductivity and magnetic susceptibility to an effective depth of 1.5 metres. Includes dual receiver coils at 1m and 0.5m spacing for simultaneous depth range data, recognized as a standard within the global agricultural community for soil salinity mapping.
• EM61-MK2A Time Domain Metal Detector A high-sensitivity, high-resolution time-domain metal detector for detection of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals including drums, underground storage tanks, and unexploded ordnance. Maximum detection depth of 5.5m with multiple time gates for target characterization.
• EM61HH-MK2A Hand-Held Metal Detector A hand-held metal detector complement to EM61-MK2A providing greater sensitivity to smaller targets at shallow depths. Detects a single 20mm projectile to greater than 0.5m depth and a 200-litre drum to greater than 2m depth, with narrower spatial focus for operation near cultural features.
• EM61S Submersible Metal Detector A completely submersible coil and cable system capable of submersion to depths of more than 60 metres, designed for marine environments applicable in both freshwater and saltwater. Can be configured with large transmitter loop on water surface.
• EM63-3D-MK2 Metal Detector An advanced time-domain metal detector with three orthogonal receivers measuring complete transient response from three orthogonal transmitters. Provides 26 time gates for characterization and classification of near-surface metallic objects including UXO discrimination.
• PROTEM Receiver A digital three-component time-domain receiver featuring true 23-bit resolution, 270kHz bandwidth, microsecond sampling gates, and simultaneous XYZ measurements. Forms the base component of any PROTEM time-domain system for deep subsurface conductivity sounding.
• TEM47 Transmitter The smallest and lightest battery-operated PROTEM transmitter with very fast turn-off time for near-surface response measurement, suitable for depth range of 5-150 metres. Battery-powered for groundwater contamination, saline intrusion, and geologic unit sounding.
• TEM57-MK2 Transmitter A mid-range power transmitter with 1,500W internal power supply, upgradeable to 3,800W with external battery. Provides measurement within depth range of 200-500m for sounding depth, thickness, and conductivity of geologic layers.
• TEM67 Transmitter The most powerful PROTEM transmitter at 3,800W with modular design combining TEM57-MK2 and a separate power module with 4,500W generator. Suitable for applications to depths of 1,000m or more for profiling deeply buried conductive ore bodies.
• PROTEM CM System A consolidated system combining PROTEM receiver and TEM47 transmitter in a single console. Half the weight of individual components, offering improvements in portability for in-mine and rugged terrain surveys.
• G-TEM System A cost-reduced time-domain electromagnetic system maintaining core PROTEM performance characteristics with new performance-enhancing features. Integrates a Panasonic Toughbook computer as system controller and is compatible with all PROTEM components in cable reference mode.
• EM16 VLF Receiver A widely used VLF receiver measuring local tilt and ellipticity of VLF broadcasts resolved into inphase and quadrature components. Has been used to discover base and precious-metal ore bodies and water-bearing fractures and faults.
• TX27 Portable VLF Transmitter A portable VLF transmitter supplying a VLF field for surveying when remote broadcasts are weak, intermittent, or poorly coupled with target. Antenna consists of a long (typically 1km) grounded wire.
• EM39 Borehole Conductivity Meter An inductive electromagnetic borehole probe measuring electrical conductivity of the soil-water matrix surrounding a borehole to a maximum depth of 500 metres. Measurements unaffected by conductive borehole fluid or plastic casing.
• Gamma39 Natural Gamma Probe A borehole probe measuring emission of natural gamma radiation from subsurface materials to provide information on relative clay content, assisting interpretation of EM39 conductivity data. Unaffected by plastic casing.
• EM39S Magnetic Susceptibility Borehole Meter A borehole probe providing measurement of magnetic susceptibility of formations in the vicinity of a borehole or monitoring well. With 50cm intercoil spacing for good vertical resolution, unaffected by plastic casing or variations in remanent magnetization.
• BH43-3 Borehole TDEM Probe A borehole TDEM probe providing three-dimensional time-domain EM exploration from boreholes in conjunction with the PROTEM system. Can survey boreholes as deep as 2km using a 500x500m transmitter loop with three orthogonal sensors for comprehensive decay measurement.
• DAT Software Proprietary data acquisition and processing software supporting management and processing of data from any Geonics Ground Conductivity Meter or Metal Detector collected with DL720, DL600 or DAS70 Data Acquisition Systems. Facilitates data transfer, positioning, editing and presentation.
• GSPX7 Software A package of programs for reading, editing, reducing and modeling transient electromagnetic responses from PROTEM, EM37, EM42 or BH43 systems. Includes PROTEM for communication, DATEM for data review and editing, MOTEM for theoretical response modeling, and RECTAN for forward models.
• DAS70-AR2 Data Acquisition System A complete data acquisition system including ultra-rugged waterproof Archer 2 field computer with 1.0GHz ARM processor, 8GB storage, integrated GPS/GLONASS receiver, and multiple communication options. Supports data collection from Ground Conductivity Meters and EM61 Metal Detectors.
• DAS70-ML Data Acquisition System A data acquisition system supporting up to nine individual inputs (up to 5 EM61-MK2 units and 1 GPS). Uses standard Allegro field computer with AMD 486 100MHz processor and a maximum data collection rate of 30 records per second enabling travel speeds up to 10km/h.

Quantifiable outcome

• EM31-MK2 provides measurement to effective depth of 6 metres for apparent conductivity and magnetic susceptibility
• +5 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Zonge International: Zonge designs and manufactures electromagnetic and electrical geophysical instrumentation (receivers, transmitters, controllers) for mineral, groundwater and environmental surveys. Closely comparable to Geonics as a direct EM instrumentation competitor serving overlapping customer segments.
• Iris Instruments: Iris Instruments (France) manufactures electrical resistivity, induced polarization and time-domain EM instruments for near-surface geophysical surveys. Directly comparable product offering (EM and electrical geophysics) and customer base in mineral exploration, hydrogeology and geotechnical.
• Phoenix Geophysics: Phoenix manufactures magnetotelluric (MT), CSAMT and time-domain EM systems for deep subsurface exploration. Comparable deep-target electromagnetic instruments serving mineral exploration and academic geoscience customers globally.
• Guideline Geo (ABEM / MALÅ): Guideline Geo manufactures electrical resistivity, seismic, GPR and borehole geophysical instruments (ABEM branded). Comparable specialty geophysics instrumentation manufacturer serving similar infrastructure, environmental and exploration customers.
• GSSI (Geophysical Survey Systems Inc.): GSSI is a US-based manufacturer of ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic instruments for utility detection, archaeology, geotechnical and environmental surveys. Comparable specialty geophysics manufacturer with overlapping end markets (UXO, utility, archaeological, environmental).
• Sensor & Software (GPR): Sensor & Software designs and manufactures ground-penetrating radar instruments for near-surface geophysical applications, headquartered near Toronto. Adjacent EM-style instrumentation serving the same geoscience and engineering clients, with overlapping UXO, geotechnical and utility detection use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Schlumberger: Schlumberger (SLB) is a global oilfield services and geoscience technology major offering a broad portfolio that includes electromagnetic survey services and instrumentation. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping EM/electrical geophysics capabilities inside a much wider services portfolio.
• Halliburton: Halliburton is a global oilfield services major with geoscience and geophysical survey capabilities (including EM/subsurface sensing services). Comparable as a broad incumbent whose geoscience offerings overlap with Geonics' EM instrumentation markets.

Others

• Geosoft (now part of Seequent): Geosoft (now Seequent) provides Oasis montaj, the industry-standard geoscience data interpretation platform and a direct integration partner of Geonics. Comparable as an ecosystem participant whose software interoperates with Geonics' instruments for downstream processing and interpretation.

Emerging players

• SAGE Earth Sciences: SAGE Earth Sciences manufactures controlled-source and time-domain electromagnetic instruments (e.g., SAM/TEM systems) used in mineral exploration. Emerging direct competitor with overlapping EM product offering for the mineral exploration segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geonics