Berkeley Lab Leads Development of Portable Active-Source Muon Imager
The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Ideon Technologies have received funding from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to jointly develop a field-deployable active-source muon imaging technology through the Reliable Ore Characterization Using Cornerstone Sensing Technologies (ROCKS) program. The three-year project aims to enhance the detection and characterization of underground critical mineral resources. Image credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Muons are subatomic particles with strong penetrating capability. Previously, Ideon Technologies has used passive muons produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere for ore body imaging in the mining sector, mapping mineral deposits and analyzing subsurface structures. However, passive muons primarily arrive from above, limiting detection angles; additionally, the natural flux is low—approximately one per square centimeter per minute—and imaging often requires days, weeks, or even months.
2026-08-20
