Posted on 25 Jun 2026

Hancock Prospecting has provided an initial $50 million investment into Lumitron, with the right to increase its investment to $100 million during the 2026 calendar year, to support the commercial scale-up and deployment of the HyperVIEW™ Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) beam and advanced X-ray technology platforms across applications such as mining.

As part of the agreement, Hancock Prospecting has nominated a representative to the Lumitron board to support collaboration and commercialisation initiatives across priority markets.

Hancock has two members on the technical review committee, including Dr. Glenn Rice, a biophysics and oncology drug-development expert (former COO and President of Pharmacyclics; Stanford Research Institute; and Genentech). And Hancock Prospecting is particularly pleased to have secured the right to bring three of these advanced systems to Australia. These will be the first three of such vitally important and massively improved cancer detection and treatment systems to come to Australia.

Dr. Rice stated: “Lumitron has developed HyperVIEW, a world-first platform of imaging systems and electron beam radiotherapy machines designed to deliver ultra-high-resolution X-ray imaging and VHEE beam radiotherapy capability within a compact architecture, deployable in existing clinical environments.

“Lumitron represents the first fundamental change in clinical radiotherapy in 70 years, and the first fundamental change in clinical and industrial X-ray radiography in 130 years.”

He explained further: “Built on patented laser-Compton physics originally developed at the world-renowned Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, HyperVIEW is designed to deliver capabilities traditionally associated with large-scale research infrastructure in a compact system suitable for broader clinical and industrial deployment. Recent peer-reviewed studies have identified HyperVIEW as the world’s highest-resolution commercial compact mono-energetic X-ray imaging machines. Depending on the hardware configuration, the technology can deliver between 100 and 1,000 times greater imaging resolution than conventionally produced X-ray systems, with up to 100 times lower radiation dose than existing technologies.

“This higher resolution will improve early cancer detection and the precision of treatment.

Hancock Executive Chairman, Gina Rinehart, added: “In healthcare, HyperVIEW has been developed for advanced medical imaging and precision radiotherapy applications designed to greatly improve the speed and accuracy of cancer detection and treatment. Hancock Prospecting’s investment will support Lumitron to develop its first commercially focused VHEE FLASH radiotherapy machine, a capability that does not currently exist for commercial use.”

She added: “In mining and resources applications, HyperVIEW is designed to go beyond conventional industrial X-ray systems, which are typically limited to analysing the shape and density of materials. HyperVIEW has the potential to identify the composition and concentration of minerals and contaminants in ore, allowing mining operators to selectively process higher-value ore, thereby improving recovery rates while potentially reducing energy consumption and overall processing costs.”

Dr. Rice said in future advanced manufacturing and 3D additive manufacturing applications, HyperVIEW is designed to detect microscopic structural defects at scales as small as one twentieth the width of a human hair in real time, supporting quality assurance and material analysis.

He added: “Lumitron has developed unique capabilities and intellectual property in ultrafast lasers and compact accelerators. It holds exclusive commercialization rights to core intellectual property underpinning the HyperVIEW platform, comprising a licensed patent portfolio spanning more than 14 patent families.”

Rinehart said the company is engaged with major US scientific and government research organizations, including the United States Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), alongside academic and clinical organizations, including the University of California, Irvine and Australia’s I-MED Radiology Network.

Click here or visit https://im-mining.com/2026/06/25/hancock-prospecting-invests-in-lumitrons-hyperview-vhee-beam-advanced-x-ray-tech-platform/ to read full International Mining article.

Cecilia Jamasmie | June 25, 2026 | 4:15 am Markets Australia USA Iron Ore Rare Earths

Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart is backing California-based Lumitron Technologies with a $50 million investment to commercialize high-resolution imaging technology used to improve ore processing and cancer detection.

The investment will help commercialize Lumitron’s HyperView very high-energy electron beam technology, which the company says delivers up to 1,000 times the resolution of conventional X-ray systems.

Lumitron’s imaging technology for medical and industrial applications can be used in mining to identify mineral composition, detect contaminants and help operators selectively process higher-grade

“The technology enables mining operators to selectively process higher-value ore, thereby improving recovery rates while potentially reducing energy consumption and overall processing costs,” Rinehart said.

The investment could double to $100 million later this year, according to Lumitron, with Hancock Prospecting also gaining board representation. The deal deepens Rinehart’s push into technologies supporting the critical minerals sector while reflecting her longstanding commitment to breast cancer initiatives following the death of her mother, Hope Rinehart, from the disease.

Strategic expansion

The move follows Hancock Prospecting’s acquisition of a $1 billion stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX after its record-breaking initial public offering earlier this month. Rinehart also owns a direct stake in Tesla valued at about $6.6 million and recently increased Hancock’s investment in Arafura Rare Earths (ASX: ARU).

Her portfolio already includes major positions in rare earths producers, including MP Materials (NYSE: MP), Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) and Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX: BRE), underscoring Hancock’s strategy of expanding beyond iron ore into critical minerals and related technologies.

As executive chair of Hancock Iron Ore, created through last year’s merger of Roy Hill and Atlas Iron, Rinehart has introduced pink haul trucks, mining equipment and personal protective equipment across operations to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer initiatives.

Click here or visit  https://www.mining.com/rinehart-invests-50m-in-x-ray-tech-for-ore-cancer/ to read full article on mining.com.

Findings open a simpler path to tunable nanoscale optical materials

May 28, 2026 – A team of researchers led by Assistant Professor Maxim Shcherbakov in the UC Irvine Nhu Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has developed a simple way to change how infrared light moves through an ultrathin crystal – using only heat and pressure.

The study, published in ACS Nano, was carried out in collaboration with researchers from UCI’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. It shows that carefully introduced defects inside a crystal can provide a new way to tune its optical behavior without complex fabrication or chemical additives.

The findings point to a new strategy for controlling light in nanomaterials: rather than adding complexity, researchers can make carefully chosen changes within the material itself. The material at the center of the work is alpha-molybdenum trioxide, or α-MoO₃, a layered crystal known for its unusual interaction with infrared light. In this material, light couples with the crystal lattice vibrations, forming hybrid waves called phonon polaritons. These waves can confine infrared energy to spaces far smaller than the wavelength of light itself, making them promising for future technologies, such as compact sensors, thermal imaging systems and nanoscale optical circuits.

A major challenge, however, has been finding practical ways to control these waves. Previous methods often relied on intricate nanofabrication, chemical modification or energetic particle beams, which can damage the material or reduce its performance.

The UCI team found a gentler alternative. They placed thin α-MoO₃ flakes between silicon wafers, applied mild pressure, and heated them to temperatures comparable to those of a household oven. This treatment removed a small number of oxygen atoms from the crystal, leaving behind atomic-scale vacancies. The heating and cooling process also left the material slightly compressed.

“What is exciting about this approach is its simplicity,” said Mashnoon Alam Sakib, a graduate student in Shcherbakov’s group and the study’s first author. “Instead of building complicated nanostructures or introducing foreign elements, we use a straightforward thermal process to reshape the material’s optical behavior from within.”

To observe the effect, the researchers used photo-induced force microscopy, a technique capable of mapping nanoscale light waves that are invisible to ordinary microscopes. They found that the treated crystals carried polariton waves with noticeably altered wavelengths—an average shift of about 13%, reaching up to 24% in some regions.

“These waves are far too small to observe with conventional optics,” said Naveed Hussain, a former postdoctoral researcher in Shcherbakov’s group, now at Toyota Research Institute of North America. “The microscopy allowed us to directly visualize how the heat-and-pressure treatment changed the way infrared energy travels through the crystal.”

Importantly, the material retained much of its performance. Modifying a crystal often causes light-based waves to fade more quickly, but in this case, the engineered polaritons remained relatively long-lived, with only a moderate reduction compared with the untreated material.

“There is usually a trade-off between tuning a material and preserving the quality of the waves it supports,” Shcherbakov said. “Here, we were able to achieve a meaningful change in optical response while keeping the polaritons robust enough to remain useful.”

UCI researchers collaborating on the study include Mariia Stepanova and Kumar Wickramasinghe from the Nhu Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; William Harris, Joshua Bocanegra and Ruqian Wu from the Department of Physics and Astronomy; and Juan Diego Sanchez and Camilo Velez from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Click here or visit https://bit.ly/light-nanomaterials to read the full article on the UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering website.

Congratulations to UC Irvine Recipients of the University of California Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards

We are pleased to announce that, out of 100 applicants across the University of California, six UC Irvine faculty members have been selected as recipients of the inaugural Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards! This competitive program recognizes outstanding early career scholars whose innovative research demonstrates exceptional promise and impact.

Please join us in congratulating the following UC Irvine awardees:

Ty Christoff-Tempesta, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Unzip, rebuild, repeat: sustainable and circular plastics alternatives designed to deconstruct and reassemble

Matthew Dean, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Multi-Location Electric Vehicle Charging Coordination: Cost Savings and Emission Reduction Through Aggregator Cooperation

Matthew Griffin, School of Physical Sciences
Targeting peptidoglycan remodeling to combat the threat of multidrug resistant bacteria

Christopher Ignacio Olivares Martinez, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
A new paradigm to discover microorganisms to fully biodegrade PFAS, the “forever chemicals

Christofer Rodelo, School of Social Sciences
So Moved: Dance, Migration, and the Making of Latinx New York

Fei Xia, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Live Biopsy Microscope: Label-Free, Real-Time Disease Diagnosis for Accessible Precision Medicine

Each awardee will receive a $50,000 research award, for a total of $300,000 awarded to UC Irvine faculty through this inaugural cycle. We are proud to see UC Irvine faculty recognized for their creativity, scholarly excellence, and contributions to addressing critical societal challenges!

Please join us in congratulating our colleagues on this well-deserved achievement!

Sincerely,

Gillian R. Hayes
Vice Provost for Academic Personnel

Click here or visit https://bit.ly/uc-early-career-award-xia to read more about the University of California Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards.

UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation, with generous support from Don and Ken Beall, created the annual Innovator Awards to recognize UC Irvine researchers working actively to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, which supports industry growth and moves inventions from the lab to market to benefit humankind.

Early Career Innovator/Emerging Innovation of the Year:

Recognizes distinguished innovators who have demonstrated excellence in the early stage of their careers, or in the early stages of an innovation breakthrough, through a combined effort in outstanding research and innovation.

This Year’s Awardees:

EMERGING INNOVATION/EARLY CAREER INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

Liangzhong (Shawn) Xiang, Ph.D.
Professor, Radiological Sciences
UC Irvine School of Medicine
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering

Radiacoustic Imaging (RAI) System for Precision Radiotherapy
Developing a radiacoustic imaging system that provides real-time 3D radiation dose mapping to support more precise and effective radiotherapy treatments.

Click here to learn more on the UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation website.