Hexagon's Green Cubes digital twin technology contributes to mining reclamation efforts across South America with Vale

• Hexagon's R-evolution has begun aerial 3D mapping flights, marking the next phase of the Green Cubes Digital Reality initiative and creating digital twins to support reclamation across Brazil's mining sector.
• Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, is using Green Cubes – which measures and visualises the environment in cubic metres – to assess and test innovative methodologies for monitoring biodiversity and restoration processes.
• It also strengthens ESG reporting, community engagement, and the development of educational and digital solutions that help drive resource mobilisation and long-term sustainability.
• Green Cubes' cubic-metre visualisation is also brought to life in the popular online game Minecraft, enabling new levels of community engagement and bringing nature closer to future generations.

STOCKHOLM, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- R-evolution, Hexagon's green-tech subsidiary, has launched its first missions deploying advanced hybrid airborne imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. This milestone supports reclamation efforts within the extractive industry and marks a key phase of the Hexagon Green Cubes initiative.

Green Cubes – a digital twin capturing the complexities of natural environments – integrates multiple reality capture technologies, including satellite and airborne LiDAR and imagery, terrestrial LiDAR, camera traps, acoustic sensors, and ground-penetrating radar. The solution provides the extractive industry with an integrated 3D environmental monitoring system. These insights are presented through an AI-powered Green Cubes platform, offering a "digital window" into forest ecosystems.

Powered by Leica Geosystems' hybrid airborne system, which simultaneously captures high-resolution imagery and LiDAR, the flights will map more than 20 square kilometres to generate a digital twin of natural habitats around mining assets, protected areas, and their surrounding landscapes.

The system produces high-density point clouds with more than 40 points per square metre, enabling highly detailed 3D modelling of forest structure. This level of precision provides accurate insight into environmental conditions – from large trees to ground-level vegetation –  and can detect even the smallest branches. These digital twins can support mining companies in monitoring biodiversity, assessing rehabilitation progress, and managing sustainability efforts with greater accuracy, while also creating new opportunities for community engagement and educational initiatives that promote long-term resource mobilisation.

"Green Cubes is redefining how the extraction industry approaches environmental responsibility – providing transparency from space to the roots," said Erik Josefsson, President of Hexagon's R-evolution. "By embedding Green Cubes digital reality into the mining life cycle, we're enabling our mining partners to accelerate restoration, improve compliance, and unlock new value through natural capital."

Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, is already deploying Green Cubes at its Mina de Águas Claras site near Belo Horizonte, Brazil. This 1,908-hectare closed mine, now undergoing repurposing, has already seen notable environmental monitoring results: the first Puma concolor sighting in 10 years, the first recorded maned wolves on video at the site, and 146 bird species identified over 90 days using AI-enhanced camera and sound traps. Now, with the new airborne LiDAR flights, the entire 20 km² area will be mapped in full 3D at 10-centimetre resolution.

To further connect with younger generations through education and gamification, Green Cubes is now also integrated into the open world game Minecraft. By recreating parts of the mining site within the game, players can explore nature, learn about biodiversity, and understand the role of miners in reclamation and restoration. In its initial test, a portion of the mine site was recreated on the Minecraft Agonia server, hosting 14,000 individual players.

Green Cubes is also gaining traction with Samarco, another major iron ore producer. The solution is currently deployed in Gaio and Horto Alegria, with potential expansion into wider areas and additional applications.

Learn more about Green Cubes [here].

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:  

Deborah Thomas, VP Corporate Communications, Hexagon, media@hexagon.com
Lena Spicer, Account Director, MikeWorldWide, Hexagon@mww.com

About Hexagon:

Hexagon is the global leader in measurement technologies. We provide the confidence that vital industries rely on to build, navigate, and innovate. From microns to Mars, our solutions ensure productivity, quality, safety, and sustainability in everything from manufacturing and construction to mining and autonomous systems.

Hexagon (NASDAQ STOCKHOLM: HEXA B) has approximately 24,800 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.4bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com.