Seismic-imaging technology firm Acoustic Zoom got a boost, with a pilot project announced at Goldcorp’s Red Lake mine.

The Paradise, Newfoundland-based company, which won this year’s Disrupt Mining competition in March, also finalized its $1-million investment from Goldcorp.

“To have the endorsement by such a major mining company that can see the merits of what we’re projecting is truly exciting and wonderful,” said CEO Jacques Guigné. “It opens the door internationally for us to present our approach and to actually make a difference for the mining firms’ bottom line.”

The technology that the pilot project will implement allows for seismic imaging within boreholes that reveal overall geology beyond just the rock sample, giving much more detailed survey data from drilling over current methods. Goldcorp says the pilot project will cost $150,000.

Dozens of tiny sensors along the length of the drill hole send out waves that take stock of the area around the hole, allowing Acoustic Zoom to construct a 3D image.

Related: IBM’s Watson improves data processing times at Red Lake

Acoustic says it has major implications for offshore drilling, where concern about the impact of noise and other pollution on marine life can limit exploration.

Guigne said he is not surprised to see the technology achieve such success. “I just knew that the time had come. It’s like introducing an MRI in medicine,” he said. “We’re introducing something similar in terms of imaging in the ground.”

As part of the investment deal, Sergio Espinosa, Goldcorp’s director of geophysics, will become a member of Acoustic Zoom’s board of directors.

Acoustic Zoom was founded in 2012. It was a semi-finalist at Disrupt Mining in 2017, and adjusted the technology to claim the top spot the following year.

Guigné says that in addition to the Goldcorp pilot, the company is also in talks with half a dozen other mining firms worldwide to implement the borehole technology.