Search-area definition
The agreed geography, exploration question, and screening assumptions.
Rare earth targeting
Rank the ground before you drill.
MAINERAL helps exploration leaders decide which ground to pursue, where to focus field work, and which areas merit the next drilling budget in regolith-hosted rare earth exploration.
You receive ranked areas, candidate targets, and a defensible geoscientific rationale.
Built for juniors and mid-tiers making high-stakes ground and drilling decisions.
Public evidence at a glance
The 2022 targeting began as a blind validation, with reference locations withheld until the ranking was complete. The metrics also include a later comparison with 15 deposits reported after the work.
Method and limitations2022Brazil ranking issued
11 / 15later-reported deposits within ranked zones
8 / 15within medium- or high-priority zones
73.3%of assessed search area excluded
Selected paid geospatial engagements
Commercial execution with real operating teams.
Metro de SantiagoFYN MetalsEl Huracán Mining
01
The decision before the drill
Favorable bedrock is only the starting point.
In regolith-hosted rare earth elements (REE), mineralization depends on more than the source rock. Weathering, landscape evolution, drainage, preservation, and access determine whether an area deserves field work and drilling.
A relatively low-cost drilling program can still destroy value when the wrong ground is chosen.
- 01
Where should we take ground?
- 02
Which areas deserve field work?
- 03
Where should the next drilling budget go?
- 04
What should we reject, and why?
02
The first engagement
Regional Targeting Assessment
A defined first engagement for teams screening a country or region, comparing acquisition opportunities, or deciding where field and drilling budgets should go.
One assessment, three common decisions
Ranked and deprioritized zones
Areas to pursue, compare, or discard before committing land and field budgets.
Candidate targets
Prioritized areas for field follow-up and drilling campaign design.
Rationale and uncertainty
Why areas were ranked, which assumptions matter, and what remains unresolved.
Recommended next actions
A practical sequence for field verification and the next capital-allocation decision.
Executive and technical readout
A decision session for leadership and the technical team, supported by exportable outputs.
When contracted, rankings can be updated as relevant public or expressly authorized client data becomes available.
Illustrative deliverable structure
From a broad search area to ranked ground.
The public sample illustrates the engagement structure, from regional coverage to an auditable decision.
Illustrative sample · conceptual structure · coordinate-free
Decision rationale
Priority concentrates where source, weathering, preservation, terrain, and access evidence remain mutually consistent.
Recommended action
Advance the highest-ranked zones to field verification; hold medium-priority ground pending new evidence.
03
How an engagement works
A clear path from the decision to the readout.
Commercial scope and data handling are agreed before the technical work begins.
01
Frame the decision
Define the general geography, exploration stage, and capital-allocation question using non-confidential project context.
02
Protect the data
Agree scope, confidentiality, ownership, permitted use, retention, and deletion before sensitive transfer.
03
Screen and rank
Use public sources and expressly authorized client data to narrow and rank the search area.
04
Review and deliver
Receive ranked ground, rationale, uncertainties, next actions, and an executive and technical readout.
04
Blind validation and follow-up evidence
A 2022 Brazil blind validation, followed by comparison with deposits reported later.
The founders completed the 2022 Brazil targeting as a blind validation, with reference locations withheld until the ranking was complete. A later review compared that ranking with 15 deposits reported after the work. Eleven fell within ranked zones: eight in medium- or high-priority zones and three in low-priority zones. Four fell outside ranked zones.
- Initial blind validation
- Brazil
- Ranking produced in 2022
- 15 deposits reported later
11 / 15inside ranked zones across all priorities
8 / 15inside medium- or high-priority zones
73.3%of the assessed search area excluded
8Medium + high priority
3Low priority
4Outside ranked zones
Founders’ prior work
From regional targeting to a principal priority in Goiás.
Before MAINERAL was founded, Aclara engaged our founders for regolith-targeting work across South America. Their 2022 delivery prioritized exploration areas in Brazil and ranked Goiás as the principal priority delivered to Aclara.
This engagement predates MAINERAL. Our founders provided the preceding targeting work; Aclara secured the concessions, executed the drilling program, and announced the discovery and subsequent project results.
Our founders delivered the regional targeting work.
Aclara entered an earn-in agreement over concessions in Goiás.
Aclara drilled 238 auger holes totaling 1,731 metres.
Aclara announced the Carina rare earth discovery.
05
From regional coverage to ranked ground
A repeatable workflow built for the weathered profile.
Founder-developed geoscientific logic and geospatial processing narrow large search areas into the places worth investigating.
01
Lithological fertility
Identify source rocks capable of releasing REE into adsorptive clays.
02
Preservation and access
Remove areas with unsuitable preservation, drainage, water, climate, or access conditions.
03
Terrain intelligence
Derive relevant terrain products from public geospatial and remote-sensing data.
04
Geomorphological interpretation
Interpret landscape evolution and the potential preservation of residual regolith.
05
Prioritization
Score and rank the areas that remain after deterministic filters are applied.
06
Delivery
Deliver ranked ground, candidate targets, and recommended next exploration steps.
Typical inputsPublic geology, elevation, remote sensing, climate, drainage, access, and client datasets when expressly authorized.
This public workflow describes the engagement stages. MAINERAL’s criteria, weights, and scoring logic remain confidential.
Paid geospatial pilots
Applied geospatial execution across three paid engagements.
Across three paid pilots, the team integrated multi-source data and delivered applied geospatial analysis in operational settings.
Metro de Santiago
Selected to apply MAINERAL’s geospatial methodology to risk detection.
FYN Metals
Testing predictive capability and multi-source data integration.
El Huracán Mining
Integrated company, geographic, and physical data at large scale.
Three paid pilots since MAINERAL began operating in July 2025.
Selected programs
Selected for five startup programs.
MAINERAL’s founding team has been selected for programs spanning early validation, B2B company building, venture acceleration, and mining innovation.
- 01Emprelatam ExplorationEarly validation · traction · sales
- 02Startup Wise GuysThe Founders Club · Cohort 16
- 03Start-Up ChileBuild 11 pre-acceleration · Corfo
- 04Emprelatam AccelerationProduct-market fit · sales · fundraising
- 05Upscale MiningMining acceleration · Centro de Innovación UC · Corfo
Current commercial focus
Rare earths first.
MAINERAL currently sells targeting outputs for regolith-hosted rare earth exploration. Other weathering-driven critical minerals are part of the future expansion roadmap.
06
REE · geospatial data · product
Built by the people who developed the method.
CEO
Paulina Vergara
REE-regolith geoscientist with an MSc in Geosciences; currently a PhD candidate. Paulina co-developed the confidential targeting methodology and led the Aclara engagement that prioritized Goiás.
Architect of a US$236k FONDEF-funded REE innovation project; contributor to a US$4M CORFO-backed critical-minerals R&D program.
CTO
Yuri Olivares
Mining Engineer with an MBA and MSc in Big Data & Business Intelligence. Yuri co-developed the targeting methodology and has eight years of experience building geology and mining data products.
32 products deployed across 5+ countries; prior initiatives reporting US$66M in impact for Anglo American and US$24M for CAP.
Advisors
Carlos Marquardt, PhD
Rare earth exploration
René Henríquez, Senior Geologist
Rare earth commercial strategy
Aurora Sánchez, PhD
Data, AI, and model development
Buyer FAQ
The practical boundaries, upfront.
Do clients access MAINERAL’s model?
No. Clients receive ranked outputs, supporting analysis, and the rationale needed to act. The underlying methodology and scoring logic remain confidential.
Does a ranking guarantee a discovery?
No. Targeting reduces and prioritizes the search space. Mineral exploration remains uncertain and requires independent technical judgment, field verification, and drilling.
Can MAINERAL work with client data?
Yes, when expressly authorized and governed by the engagement’s confidentiality, ownership, security, retention, and reuse terms.
Is MAINERAL already targeting other critical minerals?
MAINERAL currently sells targeting outputs for regolith-hosted rare earth exploration. Other weathering-driven critical minerals are part of the future product path.
Start with the decision
Have a ground decision to make?
If you are screening a country, comparing acquisition opportunities, or preparing a regolith-hosted REE campaign, tell us the geography and the decision your team needs to make.
Call +56 9 8677 3885Use this form for non-confidential project context. Share confidential coordinates, targets, assays, and technical datasets only after written terms are in place.