BHP selects eight companies for 2025 Xplor accelerator program

Credit: BHP

The world’s biggest miner, BHP (ASX: BHP), revealed on Monday the eight companies chosen from hundreds of global applicants to participate in its 2025 Xplor accelerator program.

Established in 2023, the Xplor program aims to support promising minerals explorers to accelerate the exploration needed to support the energy transition over a six-month period.

The eight participants for this year’s program are: Scout Discoveries (USA), Orogen Royalties (USA), Condor Prospecting (Argentina), Viridian Metals (Canada), DesertEx (Saudi Arabia), Electrum Discovery (Serbia), Firetail Resources (Peru) and GreenX Metals (Germany).

The 2025 Xplor cohorts will each receive an equity free grant of up to $500,000 and gain access to a network of industry experts to build out and accelerate their exploration concepts, BHP said.

“We were delighted with the strength of applications – the quality of exploration projects was extremely high. The 2025 BHP Xplor cohort will be the most diverse geographic spread to date,” Marley Palin, head of BHP Xplor said in a news release.

Over the course of the program, the companies will work collaboratively with BHP Xplor to expedite their geological concepts and position the projects for potential follow-on investment and partnership with BHP.

“As the energy transition gathers pace it becomes more urgent that we can identify, develop and commercialize the discoveries required to support the transition,” Tim O’Connor, BHP’s group exploration officer said in the statement.

The 2025 Xplor cohort are the sorts of explorers that naturally embrace innovation in bringing promising new projects to life. We are excited to be partnering with them as part of BHP’s strategy to aid the energy transition.”