Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The hackathon was held as part of the GEOMIN 2026 international conference with the support of the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). SLB served as the technology partner.

GEOMIN AI Labs 2026 was conducted in several stages. Around 60 students and young professionals from Uzbekistan applied to participate. Following the selection process and evaluation of the proposed solutions, 10 finalists were chosen to present their projects to an expert jury.

Participants worked on four practical challenges involving the use of machine learning to identify prospective zinc targets, predict gold grades, estimate subsurface temperatures for geothermal energy applications, and reduce environmental risks associated with mining activities.

During the final, participants presented their developed models, research findings and potential areas for their practical application.

The winners of the hackathon were:
🥇 1st place — Ziyoda Minavarova, University of Geological Sciences;
🥈 2nd place — Diyora Karimova, Almalyk Branch of the University of Science and Technology MISIS;
🥉 3rd place — Temirali Sadikov, Almalyk State Technical Institute.

The first- and second-place winners were awarded the opportunity to undertake paid internships at SLB and contribute to solving practical industry challenges using Data Science, artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

All three prize winners also received tickets to the GEOMIN 2026 international conference, while the finalists were presented with commemorative gifts.

GEOMIN AI Labs 2026 brought together young professionals, industry representatives, the academic community and government organisations on a single platform and demonstrated the potential for the practical application of artificial intelligence technologies in geology and the mining industry.