Mine digitisation using autonomous drones underground
David Jaunay • May 6, 2024
Underground safety, productivity and profitability
In the world of underground mining, inaccessible areas such as stopes and ore passes are crucial areas that directly determine the shift and monthly productivity. Cavity Monitoring Systems (CMS) provide limited visibility into these dangerous areas but are constrained by access. Digital Terrain continue to pioneer Autonomous LiDAR enabled drone technology with solutions that offer rich capabilities in mapping, monitoring, and managing underground environments.
Key benefits in underground mining include:
1. Precise 3D Mapping:
LiDAR technology enables high-resolution 3D mapping of underground environments with remarkable accuracy. By emitting laser pulses and measuring the time it takes for them to return, LiDAR scanners can create detailed point clouds that accurately represent the terrain, infrastructure, and geological features of underground workings, including stopes and inaccessible areas.
2. Enhanced Safety:
One of the most significant benefits of Autonomous Drone technology in underground mining is its contribution to safety. By operating within the protective barricades and barriers comprehensive data on the conditions of underground workings, LiDAR derived data helps identify potential hazards such as unstable ground, roof collapses, or hangups and blockages. This allows mining operators to take proactive measures to mitigate risks and ensure the safety of employees.
3. Improved Planning and Design:
LiDAR-generated 3D maps facilitate better planning and design of underground mining operations. By accurately capturing the geometry and topography of stopes and voids, mining engineers can optimize the layout of infrastructure, plan drilling and blasting activities more effectively, and minimize waste generation. This leads to increased operational efficiency and reduced costs.
4. Monitoring and Management:
LiDAR enabled drones enables continuous monitoring of underground environments, providing valuable insights into ground movement, rock stability, and infrastructure integrity. By comparing successive LiDAR scans over time, mining operators can detect changes in the underground environment, assess the effectiveness of ground support measures, and identify areas requiring maintenance or remediation.
5. Remote Inspection and Exploration:
Drones integrated with LiDAR technology offers a non-intrusive means of inspection and exploration. By deploying LiDAR-equipped drones or robotic platforms, mining operators can autonomously survey inaccessible areas, gather valuable data, and make informed decisions where only a few short years ago it was near impossible to gain insights into these underground areas.
6. Augmented services vs Do it yourself (DIY)
Most mines have already invested in drone and LiDAR technology to some extent, but have been disappointed with the results or have suffered lost and damaged equipment. There are many reasons for this including
- Personnel changes mean constant re-training
- Operators only gain limited and site-specific experience. This makes them unprepared for difficult scenarios that might develop. Infrequent use almost always results in loss and damage of expensive equipment
- Collecting the data is only half the job. Processing the data collected requires specialist skillsets. Processing and interpreting collected data is extremely heavy on compute and is very data intensive because of the sheer size of datasets.
- Processing turnaround is crucial. Operators often do not have sufficient time to learn and experiment with processing software, techniques and settings for optimal results – all with time sensitivity to inform operational decisions.
- Historical data collected over time is lost or not managed correctly
- Specialist shaft, lighting and other sensor attachments are not easily available but are critical for success
Digital Terrain
Digital Terrain have solutions that replace or augment existing capabilities for capturing, processing, analysis and reporting. We also offer onsite instruction and training where customers seek to build their own expertise.
Digital Terrain have solutions that replace or augment existing capabilities for capturing, processing, analysis and reporting. We also offer onsite instruction and training where customers seek to build their own expertise.
> Enjoy the sample video of our capabilities and contact David Juany for any comments, questions, or service information. david.Jaunay@digitalterrain.io or +61434317580#lidar #autonomousdrones #slam #hovermap #scanning #underground #stope
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