Investment fund Ata Fund 1 has signed a shareholder’s agreement for 33.3% of sensor-sorting company Acrux Sorting Technology (AST).

AST, in partnership with IMS Engineering, provides sensor-sorting technology to the mining industry on a fully funded, turnkey basis, enabling the extraction of full value from mineral ore and more environment-friendly extractive operations.

By unlocking additional value from marginal or uneconomical ore in an environmentally sound way, resource owners can reposition themselves on the cost curve, while simultaneously enhancing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact, the fund states.

“Ata Fund I, [owned by private equity investment company Ata Capital], seeks to drive superior long-term returns for investors by identifying deep-value investment opportunities.

"Its flexible mandate allows it to partner with companies at various stages of their growth and to take a long-term investment view on themes that will shape our future world,” says Ata Capital executive director and investment committee chairperson Lelo Rantloane.

Sensor-based sorting is an umbrella term covering all applications where defined physical characteristics are detected by sensors and used to differentiate particles.

These physical characteristics could include atomic density, colour and spectrometry. Particles that fall outside of defined characteristic parameters are rejected by a focused jet of air, thereby protecting the value of the retained commodity.

AST’s solutions reduce the extractive industry’s environmental footprint and liability, while simultaneously improving yield and reducing costs for resource owners.

“This investment from Ata Fund I will strengthen our ability to deliver on our sustainability agenda, and make a positive, enduring contribution through ESG and sustainability impacts in the mining sector,” says AST MD Karel Potgieter.

AST is a subsidiary of commodity resource and technology specialist company Acrux Resources.