Using drones’ technology, mining companies are able to generate aerial terrain models of the inventory. Effective management of stockpiles could yield significant benefits for mining companies such as grade maximisation by blending of ore, production backup during situation of supply disruptions, and financial reporting.
Drones are helping mining companies to streamline their operations by creating accurate site models, assessing risks remotely, and eliminating the need for costly manned aircraft and expert personnel.
Mining is a hazardous profession, as worksite conditions can change instantly. Both underground and surface mining will present unique challenges and inherent risks.
While drones will not eliminate every danger associated with traditional mining practices, they can be deployed to collect data in areas where humans are not allowed to enter.
As drone technology evolving, the benefits of drones in mining industries are increasing.
Below are some key benefits of drones in mining industry:
- Aerial data collection provides valuable data points used to build models and assessments.
- Eliminates the need for manned aircraft to conduct aerial inspections and volumetric measurements.
- Frequent inspections highlight potential issues before they become expensive and disruptive to production.
- Reduce the margin of error in stockpile measurements.
- Perform security patrols instead of having a large security team, saving time and money.
- Surveys are easy to conduct and repeat on an as-needed basis.
- Reduces the environmental footprint by monitoring all systems and potential threats.
- Mining drones are 30 times faster than ground-based inspections.
- Using UAVs for mining improves accuracy due to a large set of data points.
- The unique perspective of mining drones results in data point collection that is not feasible with traditional inspection techniques.
- Advanced drone sensors capture high-resolution images and videos compared to ground-based sensing technology.
Remote monitoring, mapping, and inspections keep workers from dangerous working conditions.