Stockpile Volumes
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stockpile volume measurement is one of the most frequent use cases for drones on worksites.
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With drone surveying and data processing and visualization software, you can count on exact stockpile measurements and get volume updates more frequently than ever before. This improved accuracy enables teams to tighten up worksite operations, from financial forecasting to supply-chain management to accurate reconciliation.
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Stockpile volume measurement reports give quick asset snapshots, from when you need more stock to how much is needed.
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Ideally, a stockpile would be a shape with an easy volume to calculate, like a perfect cube or cone. But most of the time, stockpiles are irregular.
Terrain Mapping
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Namely, drones in mining improve the overall efficiency of large mine site and quarry management by providing accurate and comprehensive data detailing site conditions in a very short time. They also support better coordination among teams onsite and internationally, offering dynamic oversight of all operations.
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After filtering objects such as buildings, machines and conveyor belts, drone images can be used to create digital terrain models, with each pixel containing 2.5D information (X, Y, and Z values of the highest altitude). These models allow you to identify stockpiles and pit changes, and to model water flows and wall collapses.
Mining Asset Management
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For oil & gas firms, improving asset management is paramount. It requires taking inventory of, inspecting, and maintaining hundreds of wellpads and tanks, plus miles of pipeline. The foremost methods for doing this are deploying manned aircraft to perform visual inspections, and sending roustabouts on trucks to inspect equipment manually and to inventory assets.
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By incorporating data collection, processing, and reporting into a streamlined, end-to-end drone-based solution, it is easier to start using drones. You’ll replace dangerous ground-based and manned aircraft inspections with drone deployments; unstructured data with integrated data delivered directly to your systems of record; hours of tedious image review with machine intelligence; and data overload with a focused system of reporting.
Mining Tailing Dams
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A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue. Tailings can be liquid, solid, or a slurry of fine particles, and are usually highly toxic and potentially radioactive.
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Tailings dams are some of the biggest man-made structures in the world. But they are plagued by too-high failure rates and a shortage of available data. Their size and their potential for environmental hazards make them difficult to survey and monitor—if they’re monitored at all.
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When you choose to monitor your tailings dam with a drone, you are immediately reducing the risks to surveying personnel. No longer do they need to be in such close proximity to dust and dangerous substances associated with the area. Drone surveying can be done from line-of-site distance alone.
Mining Haul Roads
Aerial images of the site enable regular visual assessment of the state of haul roads as well. This provides valuable data such as length, slope and turning angles. With this information, you can optimize roads for your haul fleet by accounting for the specifications that cut fuel costs while ensuring that your mine is within planning and regulatory requirements. In general, drone data helps ensure that roads are built to design and that they meet current legal standards.
