Moor frog piloting is progressing – artificial intelligence devices have produced the first confirmed observations

AI-based moor frog sound recognition near the Syväjärvi mining area of Sibanye-Stillwater's Keliber lithium project has progressed to the next phase of piloting. The automatic sound recognition devices used in the project Efficiency, Productivity and Competitiveness from Data have been in operation at four different sites in the vicinity of the Syväjärvi mine, which is located in the Kokkola and Kaustinen area.

The equipment was installed in mid-April 2025, when the weather was still cold and most of the water areas were covered with ice. Despite this, the devices have been collecting valuable audio data throughout the spring. The first confirmed moor frog sightings have been made at a single site, and it has also been possible to verify the sighting with the help of traditional sound recording.

"It's great to see that the system also works in challenging spring conditions," says Veli-Matti Tornikoski, an expert in the project. "This confirms that AI-based identification can be a reliable tool for monitoring biodiversity.

In the next phase of the project, the collected sound data will be analysed and the functionality of the system in different environments will be assessed. The results provide valuable information not only for the protection of the moor frog, but also for the application of artificial intelligence in environmental monitoring more broadly.