By Erik Josefsson, CEO of Hexagon’s R-evolution
As the world demands more responsible resource extraction, the challenge for the mining industry is no longer just about productivity — it’s about balance. How can mines operate efficiently while safeguarding biodiversity and restoring ecosystems?
That’s the question Vale and Green Cubes are answering at the historic Mina de Águas Claras site in Brazil.
The challenge: understanding nature at scale
Mining has long been associated with deforestation, soil disturbance, and water contamination. But understanding these environmental impacts in a measurable way has always been complex. Ecosystems are dynamic, vast and interdependent; traditional biodiversity monitoring methods often require large teams and long timelines.
For Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies, this posed a unique challenge as it transitioned from extraction to restoration. The Mina de Águas Claras (MAC) project in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, became the first Brazilian mine to enter Vale’s Future Use process, a long-term initiative designed to rehabilitate decommissioned mining areas and return them to nature.
Through advanced sensing, 3D visualisation, and AI-driven analytics, Green Cubes transforms physical environments into measurable ‘digital realities’. Pictured, an audio trap is installed for ground-truthing fauna verification.
The solution: making nature visible with digital reality
Enter Green Cubes, an environmental monitoring platform powered by Hexagon’s R-evolution, Hexagon’s green-tech business subsidiary. Through advanced sensing, 3D visualisation and AI-driven analytics, Green Cubes transforms physical environments into measurable ‘digital realities’.
MAC is using the technology to:
- Map biodiversity across four “experience points” representing different biomes, including dense forest, reforestation areas and fire-impacted ridges
- Measure ecological change with LiDAR, satellite imagery and AI-trained sensors that detect flora and fauna diversity
- Engage communities and scientists through virtual exploration, even integrating the MAC site into the sandbox game Minecraft made out of blocks for educational outreach
Each data layer, from sub-centimetre terrestrial LiDAR scans to acoustic monitoring via audio traps, feeds into the Green Cubes platform, creating an immersive, interactive digital window into the forest. This approach turns the invisible processes of ecosystem recovery into visible, actionable insights
“With Green Cubes we are bringing technology together to measure biodiversity in a very robust way,” said Leticia Guimarães, Biodiversity Strategy Lead at Vale.
The Green Cubes platform creates an immersive, interactive digital window into the forest.
The impact: data that connects people, nature and value
Phase one of the Green Cubes project is already showing how digital transformation can make sustainability tangible. By combining scientific rigour with interactive storytelling, Vale is helping communities, regulators, and investors see nature in new ways, literally and figuratively.
The next phase will scale up to cover the entire MAC site in high resolution 3D mapping and visualisation. This includes introducing the Green Cubes Natural Capital model – assigning measurable value to every cubic metre of rehabilitated land. The goal: to attract new partners and redefine how environmental assets are valued and protected.
“With Green Cubes we will be able to better understand the area of MAC and Mata do Jambreiro – and help the community understand it with us,” said Jussara Januario, Future Use Project Lead, Vale.
Why it matters: beyond mining, towards a global standard
Vale’s collaboration with Green Cubes and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) demonstrates how advanced technology can underpin credible biodiversity reporting. More than just compliance, it’s about leading a cultural shift where nature is as measurable and valuable as financial capital.
The implications reach far beyond mining. As industries face mounting pressure to protect and restore ecosystems, the Green Cubes approach could serve as a blueprint for monitoring biodiversity in any threatened habitat, from tropical rainforests to post-industrial landscapes.
We believe this is just the beginning of transforming how we measure and give value to the environment – for the future of all mines.
A vision for regenerative mining
By merging data science, community engagement, and ecological insight, Vale and Green Cubes are proving that digital technology can do more than optimise operations – it can heal landscapes and strengthen humanity’s relationship with nature.
Their collaboration is not just about rehabilitating a single mine site. It’s a vision of what the digital mine of the future could be: one where every decision supports both productivity and planetary health.
Download the case study to find out more about Vale and Green Cubes.
Throughout 2025, we’ll be blogging about the challenges facing the mining industry. Drawing upon insights from thought leaders in our customer community and from within Hexagon, we’ll share how trusted partnerships and proven technology are addressing those challenges, helping to improve safety and cut costs while balancing the demands of productivity and sustainability.