Sernageomin’s SIGEX Recovery: The Contribution of Mineral Forecast’s Data Architecture
This milestone, which marks a decisive step after the cyberattack that affected the Service’s databases in previous months, not only reflects an institutional effort but also the concrete impact of public-private collaboration.
In early March, Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN) announced a key advance in Project Phoenix (Proyecto Fénix): the recovery of critical data from the SIGEX system (Exploration Geology Information System – Sistema de Información de Geología de Exploración). SIGEX is an open access and free consultation platform, fundamental for the country’s mining industry, which was severely affected after a cyberattack last December that compromised the Service’s strategic databases.
The contingency involved the loss of relevant information on mining explorations, including geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and drilling records collected over years by mining rights holders. The magnitude of the impact not only affected the Service’s operation but also access to key information for exploration and sector development. In this context, the backup developed by Mineral Forecast proved essential to accelerate the recovery process.
The architecture behind the solution
What is today recognized as a successful recovery originated months before the crisis. In July 2024, the Mineral Forecast development team promoted the design of a backup system for the SIGEX portal. The initial objective was to ensure continuous access to relevant public information for their internal processes, without anticipating that this infrastructure would be key in a scenario of massive data loss.
“This solution initially arose from an internal need to use public information, but also from a vision of data availability and evolution. Today, that work allows us to contribute a concrete backup to the country,” highlighted Nicolás Torres, Head of Software Development, who was in charge of the development and operation of this solution.
From internal solution to national backup
The collaboration with SERNAGEOMIN was formalized through an agreement, by virtue of which Mineral Forecast made all the compiled information available to the Service completely free of charge. There was no economic consideration of any nature: the decision to collaborate was a direct response to the impact the incident had on the country’s geological heritage and the mining industry as a whole.
The daily backup implemented since 2024 allowed the precise reconstruction of the file structure that Sernageomin had lost after the cyberattack. Thanks to this technological foresight, it was possible to significantly accelerate the recovery times for critical information, contributing directly to the continuity of Project Phoenix.
“As a geologist, I know what it means to lose exploration data: they are years of field work that are not recovered from one day to the next. When we saw the magnitude of the impact, the decision to collaborate was very clear for us. We couldn’t keep that backup without doing anything,” explains Jacqueline Harris, geologist and Head of Customer Success at Mineral Forecast.
The recovery of SIGEX not only represents the restitution of information but also a sign of institutional strengthening and modernization in data management for the future development of the sector.
References
SERNAGEOMIN: Cyberattack Statement (12/18/2025)
SERNAGEOMIN: Mineral Forecast Backup Statement (03/02/2026)
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