Carbinminerals

Operating under the name Arca since January 2023, the company formerly known as Carbin Minerals was established in September 2021 as a spin-off from the University of British Columbia (UBC). The venture is the culmination of two decades of geological research by its founders: Professor Greg Dipple, Bethany Ladd, and Peter Scheuermann. Dipple, a geology professor at UBC for 30 years, began studying the natural carbon mineralization process of unearthed rocks in 2000, forming the scientific bedrock of the company. Paul Needham, a serial cleantech entrepreneur, joined as CEO in April 2022 to steer the company's transition from an academic project to a commercial entity.

Arca is positioned in the carbon capture market, providing a service that transforms mine waste into a mechanism for large-scale carbon dioxide removal. The company's business model centers on partnering with mining companies that produce critical metals, such as nickel, from ultramafic rock. It offers services at any stage of mine development, from assessing the carbon mineralization potential of core samples at prospective sites to deploying its technology at active or legacy mines. Revenue is generated through the sale of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to entities aiming to meet sustainability goals. Arca has already secured over $1 million in pre-sold CDR credits to clients like Shopify and Frontier.

The company's core technology accelerates the natural process of carbon mineralization, where atmospheric CO2 binds with minerals in mine tailings—the pulverized rock left after mineral extraction—to form stable carbonate rock. This method permanently sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere. Arca's patent-pending technology can be applied on-site to increase the rate of this natural reaction by a factor of up to five. A key innovation is a mineral activation technique that uses high-intensity energy bursts, like microwaves, to disrupt the mineral lattice structure, significantly boosting the rate and capacity for CO2 capture. This allows mining operations to function as industrial-scale direct air capture and storage facilities, creating a pathway to carbon-negative mining. Significant milestones include winning a US$1 million XPRIZE award, receiving a seed funding grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and launching pilot projects with major mining companies like BHP and Vale.

Keywords: carbon mineralization, mine tailings, carbon capture, direct air capture, carbon dioxide removal, ultramafic rock, cleantech, geochemical process, carbon sequestration, mining technology, carbon-negative mining, sustainable mining, climate solutions, Arca Climate, Greg Dipple, CDR credits, Shopify, Frontier, XPRIZE, critical metals, nickel mining, environmental technology, waste valorization, decarbonization