Seequent's Visible Geology passes 200,000 users worldwide

Seequent's Visible Geology education tool has passed 200,000 users worldwide and now includes a construction feature. The milestone comes as the product was named a finalist in the STEM solution category of the EdTech Cool Tool Awards 2026.

The update adds tunnels, piles and foundations to 3D geological models, allowing users to place infrastructure directly into subsurface settings. Students can adjust the size, depth and orientation of those structures, while an x-ray view makes surrounding geology semi-transparent so they can see how the built elements intersect with rock layers and faults.

Visible Geology is a free 3D earth science teaching tool that Seequent relaunched in June 2024. The latest changes are intended to connect geology teaching more closely with engineering applications.

Teaching materials

Alongside the software update, new teaching resources have been published on the Science Education Resource Centre platform. The materials were developed and peer-reviewed with earth science educators linked to the centre in the United States and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Rory McFadden, President of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and Science Education Associate at SERC, outlined the purpose of the new resources.

"By partnering with Seequent to build Visible Geology teaching activities, we are providing educators with robust, peer-reviewed materials to help their students understand and interact with complex concepts in 3D. Visible Geology doesn't just make the subsurface visible, it invites students to interact with it, building the critical reasoning skills they need for future careers in earth science," McFadden said.

Seequent has also changed access arrangements for classrooms by allowing students and educators to sign in with Google credentials. This removes a separate login step and is intended to make the tool easier to use in teaching environments.

Skills pipeline

Seequent linked the product changes to wider concerns about declining university enrolments in earth sciences. It said modernising the way core geological concepts are taught is important if the sector is to maintain a pipeline of trained geoscientists and engineers.

The company operates in software used across mining, environmental consulting and other subsurface industries. According to Seequent, its products are used by eight of the top 10 mining companies in the world and seven of the top 10 environmental consultancies.

Angela Harvey, Chief Customer Officer, said the reach of those products shaped the company's view of its role in education.

"So we feel a responsibility and also an opportunity to educate the next generation of earth scientists," Harvey said.

The awards recognition comes from EdTech Digest, which has run the programme for 16 years and focuses on education technology products and services. Visible Geology was named among finalists in the STEM solution category.

The combination of user growth, classroom resources and new modelling functions suggests Seequent is seeking to expand the tool's role beyond introductory visualisation. By bringing basic construction elements into geological models, the software gives students a more direct way to study how subsurface conditions may affect tunnels, foundations and piles.

The emphasis on interaction reflects a broader shift in science education towards model-based learning, particularly in subjects where spatial relationships are difficult to teach through static diagrams. In geology, where students often need to understand layers, faults and underground structures that cannot be directly observed, three-dimensional tools have become more common in university teaching.

For engineering and geoscience courses, the new feature may also help illustrate the overlap between site conditions and design choices. Rather than looking at geology and infrastructure separately, users can place both within the same model and adjust them to test how position and orientation change what is visible.

The addition of peer-reviewed teaching material also indicates a push for deeper use by educators, not only individual students. Formal classroom adoption often depends as much on prepared exercises and curriculum support as on the software itself, particularly where lecturers need materials that can be integrated into existing courses.

The new resources and simplified sign-in system address that practical side of adoption, while the user figure gives a sense of the tool's scale since its relaunch. Visible Geology has now surpassed 200,000 users worldwide, according to Seequent.