Posted on January 21, 2026
Dredge Robotics has a classic small business back story, complete with humble beginnings in a shed. In the years since, however, the company’s award-winning innovations have received industry-wide recognition.
Dredge Robotics’ recognition as the winner for the Innovative Mining Solution category in the 2025 Australian Mining Prospect Awards is a watershed moment for the Western Australian technology company, which has relied on imaginative thinking to rise from humble beginnings.
“When I first started working at this company [in 2006], we were based in a shed next to a house with only three employees, and we had not much more than of a lot of ambition,” Dredge Robotics chief executive officer Antony Old said. “To be awarded this amongst a pretty heavyweight and impressive field is huge for us.”
Bibra Lake-based Dredge Robotics is helping to transform water asset maintenance in the mining sector with innovations like the Zero Entry Robotic Dredging System. This award-winning product is a remotely operated solution engineered to service ponds, tanks and tailings facilities without requiring manual human entry.
This process has traditionally required shutting operations and sending crews into hazardous, confined spaces, posing significant safety risks and substantial costs, including the downtime that associated with these hazards. With the Zero Entry Robotic Dredging System, this can all now be avoided.
Dredge Robotics, which has now grown to have more than 90 staff members, has revolutionised this aspect of the industry by creating entirely new robotic platforms that leverage advance sonar modelling, allowing operators to create a 3D map of the environment, guiding the robot with precision. This also enables on-the-fly adjustments in live production environments.
The Zero Entry Robotic Dredging System has been deployed at several high-risk sites across Western Australia and other mining hot spots, working with majors such as BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue. Old said it’s a huge endorsement for the company to be working with these kinds of Tier 1 mining companies, which have shown appreciation for Dredge Robotics’ solutions-based approach.
“Our clients will tell us what they’re struggling with, and then we’ll realise additional applications we never knew existed before,” Old said. “Suddenly, you’re working with high-value ideas which force you to explore new avenues of development.”
This means Dredge Robotics has to keep rapidly growing, as Old said the company is “always trying to recruit people who are high performing and have high accountability”.
Dredge Robotics’ products have previously been recognised for their ability to recover valuable minerals that were naturally discarded during the mineral processing stages, and thought-provoking questions are being asked of what else the products can achieve.
Old said the company’s suite of technology is only just ramping up, with more hardware in production to take Dredge Robotics to another level.
The Dredge team attended the MINExpo in Las Vegas last year, and the company is now exploring international markets, with Old saying it is on the verge of “becoming a burgeoning international success story”.
“[This recognition at the Prospect Awards] highlights not only the potential of robotic technology in mining but also the importance of prioritising safety, sustainability, and smarter operations across the sector,” Dredge Robotics said in a statement.
“Innovation in mining is thriving, and we’re proud to be part of that momentum.”
