Geosol's incorporation of Geoscan, announced at the end of 2025, marks a strategic move by the Geopar Group that goes beyond corporate growth, with a significant impact on the Brazilian mining services market. It represents a clear shift toward an increasingly integrated mineral exploration model, driven by technology, geological intelligence, and the reduction of technical and financial risks throughout the entire value chain. By bringing together geology, geophysics, drilling, data management, and now links to financing and reserve certification, the Geopar Group seeks to reposition itself in the market as a provider of a full range of solutions for modern mining.
The move comes at a time when the mining industry is facing profound changes. The gradual decline in average ore grades, the expansion of underground mining, greater regulatory complexity, the pressure for economic efficiency, and the growing demand for reliable and traceable data make every technical decision more critical. Seen in this light, the fragmentation of the service chain is no longer merely a lack of effectiveness: instead, it has become a concrete risk to the feasibility of projects.
Over the last few decades, Pereira notes, the mineral exploration chain has become overly specialized. Large mining companies have internalized teams, service companies have focused on isolated stages, and the dialogue between geology, geophysics, and drilling has been weakened. "The result," he says, "is a loss of agility, increased costs, and, all too often, technical decisions made based on incomplete data."
Pereira sees the incorporation of Geoscan as symbolizing a strategic return of geology to the center of the decision-making process. "Today there are projects that large companies cannot handle due to a lack of speed," he says. "And when I say speed, I mean basic things: correct borehole allocation, rapid geological mapping, initial understanding of the target."
Mining companies already in operation, he warns, especially large-scale producers, are not always able to mobilize their internal resources with the agility required by the exploratory phases. "Technical personnel from an outside company, when they're well integrated, will allow you to achieve exactly that: covering the initial chain much more efficiently," he says. The integration with Geoscan strengthens precisely this stage. "The survey becomes much more objective," he explains, "with fewer wasted boreholes and higher quality information."
The process of bringing Geosol and Geoscan closer together was built over at least three years. It had always been evident, Pereira recalls, that the two companies' visions were closely aligned with each other. "Geoscan is an extremely dynamic company, with a very great technical capacity in geology and geophysics. This had always caught our attention," he says.
"The decision to move toward a more structured incorporation matured," he says, "when it became clear that the sum of our skills would allow us to cover the entire mineral exploration chain, from greenfield to brownfield, including advanced stages and subsequent monitoring.
The logic is simple and direct: well-executed geology and geophysics are the essential basis for efficient drilling. "We often joke," he says, "that, after a good scan, you know exactly where to place the acupuncture needle. This means a more precise definition of the probing grid, optimizing resources, and avoiding off-target punctures."
For Eduardo Capelo, Geoscan's commercial director, the incorporation into the Geopar Group represents a watershed moment and expands not only the service portfolio but also the company's technological horizon. "Geoscan has always been a geology company with a strong technological focus," he points out. "Our technical personnel are mostly geologists, along with geophysicists and mining engineers, but we have always operated using technology applied to geology."
Capelo's view of the integration with drilling is that it creates a virtuous learning cycle. "When you start to directly correlate geophysical data with drilling results, this feeds back into the mathematical models," he explains. "This improves processing, and even the interface with artificial intelligence, upgrading the accuracy of interpretations."
In this context, Capelo cites ongoing projects focused on innovation. "For example," he says, "we are developing a project with Embrapii [the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Corp.], focused on the application of AI in mineral exploration using geophysical methods. Embrapii draws on funding from BNDES [the National Development Bank], which strengthens our innovation DNA. This is extremely relevant because it enables us to speed up decision-making and minimize uncertainties."
For the market, the main consequence of this integration is a much broader range of solutions. "The client or investor now has options," Capelo says, "ranging from the basics to drilling, without being stuck with a single methodological approach. Within the limitations of our size, we now have access to the main geophysical technologies in the world, bringing them to Brazil. It's a win-win relationship, but the one who wins the most is the one who hires the Geopar Group.
Market demand and consolidation of integrated solutions
The consolidation of the integrated solution concept did not emerge only as an internal strategy of the Geopar Group, but as a direct response to an increasingly explicit market demand. Thiago Sillman Borges, responsible for developing new business and expanding internationally, notes that the mining industry has been undergoing a clear change in mentality.
"The market is tired of fragmentary solutions," he says. "The client no longer wants to manage fifteen different contracts, each having its own partial view of the project." Geosol has observed this emerging demand very concretely in recent projects, he reports.
An emblematic example was the LHG Mining project," Borges recalls. "We conducted approximately 80,000 meters of drilling in less than a year, within an integrated concept. The repercussions were extremely positive and made it very clear that the market was ready for this model.
This experience highlighted the need for a technical team dedicated to geology and geophysics. "We were very much aware of this gap," he says, "and then Geoscan arrived and occupied this space. It is a partnership built on a business model that is well understood by both sides, and the experience so far has been extremely positive."
Pereira endorses this interpretation. "That project," he recalls, "showed us that when you integrate the various stages, the gain is not merely operational, it is strategic. The client begins to see the project as a whole, not as a set of disconnected services." He adds that an integrated solution also opens doors to the group's international expansion. "We are already evaluating opportunities in the Middle East, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile," he notes. "In several of these countries, we are able to provide our services in the form of our integrated solution or in partnership with local players," he says. In this context, the historical partnership with SGS enters as a strategic differential. "From the physical preparation of samples," he says, "to the definition of the metallurgical route and geochemical and environmental analyses, we have SGS as a partner. This allows us to close the entire cycle, including the certification of resources and reserves."
Starting from this point, the group is also beginning to move toward the financing stage. "Together with our partners," Pereira says, "we are studying financial vehicles to support already certified projects. The idea is that, without restricting ourselves to geology and exploration alone, we might help the project advance to the development stage.
Capelo adds that the demand for integrated solutions is also linked to the need to reduce technical biases. "When a company works with only one method," he says, "it tends to see the project from that perspective. In our model, the client has access to a much wider range of technologies, which allows for more balanced decisions."
This approach, in Capelo's view, is especially relevant in initial exploratory projects. "You can move beyond the basics," he says, "and evolve to drilling with much more information at your disposal. It helps to avoid making decisions in the dark."
Borges adds that the integrated solution also communicates better with investors. "When you present a structured project, with integrated, traceable data and a clear view of risk, this completely changes the perception of the people who are going to finance it."
From the client's viewpoint: mitigating risks while cutting costs
From the client's point of view, the integration between geology, geophysics, and drilling translates directly into risk mitigation and better capital allocation. In a scenario of tighter margins and greater technical rigor, making fewer mistakes has ceased to be a competitive advantage and has become a basic requirement.
Capelo is emphatic in stating that the objective is not to reduce drilling, but to know where to do it, to make it more efficient and qualified by increasing discernment in defining targets. "Drilling is the main cost of mineral exploration," he points out, "and will always be necessary. The big question is knowing where to invest those meters. Instead of drilling to try to discover something, you arrive at the borehole with well-constructed hypotheses. This completely changes the efficiency of the project." Geophysical methods allow for a much higher level of discernment in defining targets and completely change the logic of the project, he explains.
Pereira complements this with a practical vision, built over decades of experience. "The client doesn't want to do less drilling, but to do better drilling," he says. "They want to extract the maximum information from each meter drilled. They can carry on doing the same 10,000 meters of drilling but bringing much more information to the job: geotechnical and hydrogeological data, and a better geological description. This means less uncertainty and more value generation later on, when the project enters the engineering or operation stage."
Low grades, underground mining, and new challenges
The gradual decline in average ore grades and the advancement of underground mining impose new technical challenges on the mining industry and make geological accuracy increasingly critical. In this context, the quality of information generated in the initial phases of the project becomes crucial for its economic feasibility.
Pereira warns that the changed circumstances require a changed mindset. "Making fewer mistakes," he says, "is no longer just a differential. Now it is a basic condition for feasibility. With lower ore grades, any mistake is very costly. There is no longer room for decisions based on fragile assumptions. The feasibility of a project depends on the market moment. Gold, lithium, iron ore — all these markets can change very quickly."
Drilling now plays an even more strategic role, he says. "Drilling is not just for finding ore. Often it serves to avoid finding ore. This is called condemnatory drilling, which prevents you from building infrastructure on top of the mineral body. For example, to define where not to build a plant, a crusher, or a conveyor belt. This avoids future problems with stability and planning problems — structural errors that would only appear years later," Pereira notes, citing practical experiences from his long career.
In the case of iron ore, he sees a picture of greater competitiveness worldwide. "Simandou, in Africa, is coming online with 100 million tons," he says. "The differentiating factor will be green iron ore, with lower costs and less waste generation. Well conducted drilling is fundamental for this."
In addition, he points out, integration also allows for better use of the borehole. "In Brazil, we say that the borehole has to be like a beef herd: make use it all, down to the horn. If the borehole is ready, you need to extract from it as much information as you possibly can."
For Borges, in addition to the technical gain, there is a direct impact on the cost structure and project management. "When the client reduces the number of suppliers," he says, "and starts working with an integrated solution, that reduces their administrative costs and their contractual risk, and it simplifies their decision-making. In other words, reducing an average of fifteen contracts to a single contract cuts costs, minimizes risk, and simplifies management."
Borges emphasizes that this simplification is especially valued by junior companies and in the case of greenfield projects. "These clients often lack the internal structure to manage multiple technical contracts," he notes. "Having a single partner responsible for integration makes all the difference. This is very significant for the client. They then have a single point of contact, a supplier who has taken responsibility for the technical management of the project as a whole."
Pereira also advocates the expansion of underground mining in Brazil. "An underground mine has less visual impact and can even help with the social perception of mining," he says. "In gold, in copper, and even in iron ore, companies are already moving in this direction."
Capelo points out that underground mining raises the level of technical requirements. "When you go underground," he says, "you need a thorough understanding of geology, geotechnics, hydrogeology, and the behavior of the rock mass. You can no longer make do with simplified models and incomplete information."
The geophysical methods needed for working at greater depths gain even more importance in this context. "Today," he says, "we work using technologies that investigate targets up to 2,000 meters down. This is fundamental for the advancement of underground mining."
Borges notes that underground mining also has economic and social implications. "An underground mine has a much smaller visual impact than an open-pit mine," he says. "This helps with the public perception of mining. Although it is more complex from a technical point of view, it can reduce environmental impacts and improve the social acceptance of a company's projects."
He stresses that this change requires greater rigor from the exploration stage onward. "When you make a mistake at the beginning, the cost is going to explode later on. As a result, data integration and quality have ceased to be mere rhetoric and have become a condition for survival."
In this context, one of the pillars of the Geopar Group's strategy is the creation of a Geophysics Development Center, with consolidation expected by 2027. Capelo says the aim is to integrate hardware, software, and drilling data to develop increasingly precise methods. "We want to test technologies, validate methodologies, and continuously improve the accuracy of the data," he explains.
The debate on critical minerals, rare earths, nuclear elements, and sedimentary basins also occupies a central place in the group's strategy. In Pereira's words, "The challenge lies not only in research, but also in the processing and segregation of these minerals." There is no radical change in mineral research methods from one commodity to another, he says, though the challenge of processing and utilization can be much greater. "In the case of rare earths, for example," he says, "concentrations are stated in parts per million (ppm). This is an area in which the analytical capacity of the SGS Geosol laboratory is an important differential."
Capelo adds that the group is already working on projects involving rare earths — especially in analyses at very low concentrations — ionic clays, and nuclear elements. "Brazil has occurrences similar to those in China, especially in ionic clays, which sparks great international interest," he reports. "We have the geophysical technology, the analytical capacity, and the know-how to operate in this field." In the case of uranium, the obstacles are mainly of a regulatory nature: "Brazil has enormous potential," he says, "but it still faces challenges in the legal security area."
On the subject of sedimentary basins, Capelo points out that the group already has experience in both oil and gas and hydrogeological studies. "In some places in Brazil," he says, "water is worth as much as gold. Understanding sedimentary basins is strategic, and we are fully qualified to operate in this field."
Pereira mentions another problem that the Brazilian mining industry finds itself up against: alongside technical excellence, it is essential to invest in education. "Mining is still confused with illegal mining," he points out. "We need to show what responsible mining is."
Capelo adds: "Today, Brazil can compete on equal terms anywhere in the world. We are exporters of intellectual capacity in mining."
Path open for new acquisitions
With opportunities in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and the Middle East, the Geopar Group is wagering on integrated solutions as a competitive differential. When asked about the possibility of new acquisitions, Pereira's answer is simple and straightforward. "Yes," he says. "We are already talking to companies that complement this chain, especially in the transition from a certified mineral project to an operating mine. This is one of the strategic focuses that are already under way."
The Geopar Group is today consolidating a model that responds to the new demands of the mining market: more technology, more integration, more efficiency, and less risk. A move that repositions the group not only as a service provider but as a strategic partner in the development of mining projects in Brazil and abroad.