COSMO - STOCHASTIC MINE PLANNING LABORATORY, McGill University

What COSMO - STOCHASTIC MINE PLANNING LABORATORY, McGill University does

COSMO — Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory is an academic research laboratory within McGill University's Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, founded in September 2006 and directed by Professor Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, who holds the Canada Research Chair Tier I in Sustainable Mineral Resource Development and Optimization under Uncertainty. The laboratory develops proprietary methods in high-order geostatistical simulation, stochastic mine planning optimization, and simultaneous stochastic optimization of mining complexes and mineral value chains, designed to manage both orebody supply uncertainty and commodity price demand uncertainty. Technology components include reinforcement learning frameworks for adaptive shovel fleet management, self-learning mining complex architectures, and geometallurgical prediction models for stochastic production scheduling.

The lab operates an International Mining Industry Consortium currently comprising eight major mining companies — Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, BHP, De Beers, IAMGOLD, Kinross, Newmont, Vale, and Agnico Eagle — whose combined membership represents approximately 75% of global mining activities. Revenue is derived from government research grants (NSERC, CFI, Canada Research Chairs Program, FRQNT, Government of Canada, Government of Quebec), industry consortium membership fees on multi-year terms, and professional development short course fees. COSMO distributes its research through annual Technical Days, Traveling Technical Days hosted at partner offices globally, short courses on strategic mine planning, geostatistics, discrete event simulation, and mineral economics, peer-reviewed publications, and academic conference participation.

Name

COSMO - STOCHASTIC MINE PLANNING LABORATORY, McGill University

Legal name

COSMO — Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory, McGill University

Website

https://cosmo.mcgill.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COSMO is a research laboratory at McGill University developing stochastic optimization and high-order geostatistical simulation methods for strategic mine planning, funded by government grants and an eight-member industry consortium of major global mining companies representing approximately 75% of world mining activities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

COSMO is an applied research laboratory at McGill University that develops stochastic optimization methods for mine planning under geological uncertainty. It conducts funded research, trains graduate students and industry professionals, and delivers consulting-grade decision-support solutions to major mining companies. Revenue is generated through government and industry grants, an industry consortium, and fee-based professional short courses.

Product overview

COSMO is a collaborative research laboratory at McGill University focused on orebody modelling and strategic mine planning. Rather than a commercial software product, COSMO offers a portfolio of professional development services including short courses (Strategic Mine Planning with Digital Technologies, Geostatistical Evaluation of Mineral Resources, Discrete Event Simulation, and Mineral Economics), public lectures, and industry conferences (COSMO Technical Days). The laboratory operates an international mining industry consortium conducting collaborative research into stochastic optimization, geostatistical simulation, and AI-driven mine planning technologies, with findings disseminated through publications and educational programs rather than packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Optimization (Research & Consulting) A flagship research and consulting program that applies high-order stochastic simulations and simultaneous stochastic optimization to strategic and operational mine planning, delivered to major mining operators and partners.
• Short Course 1: Geological Modelling & Geostatistics for Mineral Resources Professional development short course covering geological modelling and geostatistical estimation methods for mineral resources, targeted at industry professionals in mining.
• Short Course 2: Simulation of Mineral Deposits for Risk Analysis Professional development short course on simulation-based risk analysis of mineral deposits for mining industry professionals.
• Short Course 3: Open Pit Mine Planning & Design Under Uncertainty Professional development short course on open pit mine planning and design under geological uncertainty, for mining engineers and planners.
• Short Course 4: Underground Mine Planning & Design Under Uncertainty Professional development short course on underground mine planning and design under geological uncertainty, for mining engineers and planners.
• COSMO Technical Days Technical conference-style events held in Montreal where COSMO researchers and industry partners present research findings, applied case studies, and technology demonstrations to consortium members and industry professionals.
• Traveling Technical Days Traveling versions of COSMO Technical Days delivered at partner mining company sites, bringing applied research presentations and demonstrations to consortium member locations.
• Public Lectures Series Public lecture series hosted by COSMO featuring invited researchers, industry leaders, and academic speakers presenting on mining optimization and related topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Stochastic mine planning trial at Newmont's Twin Creeks mine demonstrated significant value generation potential
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Agnico EaglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2024Agnico Eagle joined as a new industry partner for a five-year term in March 2024, becoming the eighth member of the international mining industry consortium. They are represented on COSMO's board of directors and their professionals have access to various knowledge mobilization activities including bi-annual Technical Days, research reports, and collaborative research initiatives for optimizing industrial mining complexes through stochastic approaches.
• Anglo AmericancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2006Founding member of the COSMO industry consortium since the laboratory's launch in 2006. Participates in collaborative research initiatives and has representation on the International Industry Advisory Board.
• AngloGold AshanticoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing consortium member; hosts COSMO Traveling Technical Days at their Perth office. Collaborates on stochastic mine planning research and optimization under uncertainty.
• BHPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium member participating in collaborative research on mine planning optimization and stochastic simulation technologies.
• De Beers GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing consortium member with historical ties to the laboratory's founding. Known for contributions to geostatistics and diamond deposit evaluation.
• IAMGOLDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium member participating in collaborative research on mining complex optimization.
• Kinross GoldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium member participating in research initiatives for mine planning optimization.
• NewmontcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium member with documented case study at Twin Creeks mine demonstrating stochastic mine planning value generation. Newmont staff contribute to professional development courses.
• ValecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium member with staff contributing to COSMO's professional development short courses on strategic mine planning.
• SRK ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting firm contributing instructors to professional development courses on geostatistics and discrete event simulation.
• Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional organization collaborating on scholarships, conferences, and professional development programs with COSMO.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Maptek: Developer of mining software for geological modeling, mine planning, and operations (Vulcan, DomainMCF). Overlaps with COSMO's orebody modeling and resource estimation research, targeting the same enterprise mining customers.
• RPMGlobal (Runge Pincock Minarco): Provider of mining software and advisory services including strategic mine planning, scheduling, and financial evaluation. Comparable as a commercial counterpart to COSMO's research output, packaging optimization and mine planning tools for major mining companies.
• SRK Consulting: Global mining consulting firm providing geostatistics, resource estimation, and mine planning advisory. SRK is already a minor partner (instructors for COSMO short courses) and directly comparable as a seller of technical mining expertise to the same major mining clients.
• Whittle Consulting: Specialist consulting firm focused on strategic mine planning and optimization of complex mining operations under uncertainty. Highly comparable to COSMO's simultaneous stochastic optimization framework and serves the same enterprise mining customer base.
• Datamine: Mine planning, geological modeling, and resource estimation software vendor (Studio OP, MineSched). Directly comparable as a commercial vendor of mine planning software competing with the research tools COSMO develops.
• AMC Consultants: Independent mining consultancy providing mine planning, due diligence, and operational advisory to majors. Comparable to COSMO as a seller of strategic mine planning expertise to the same enterprise mining customers.
• Optiro (formerly Snowden): Independent mining consulting firm specializing in resource estimation, geostatistics, and mine planning. Direct competitor to COSMO's consulting and training offerings, serving the same enterprise mining clients.

Broad incumbents

• Seequent (Bentley Subsurface): Geological modeling and geoscience software platform (Leapfrog) serving mining, civil, and environmental markets. Broader than COSMO but a leading vendor in orebody modeling and resource estimation, the same domain as COSMO's geostatistical research.
• Hexagon Mining: Major mining technology vendor providing fleet management, mine planning, and survey software. Comparable as a broad incumbent commercializing mine operations optimization at scale, complementary to COSMO's research agenda.

Emerging players

• Geovariances: Specialist provider of geostatistics software (ISATIS) and consulting for mining and environmental applications. Niche but technically direct comparison to COSMO's high-order geostatistical simulation and resource estimation research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cosmo-stochastic-mine-planning-laboratory

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about COSMO - STOCHASTIC MINE PLANNING LABORATORY, McGill University