Underground mine surveying, exploration, inspection and monitoring have become faster, safer, more efficient, and less intrusive since drone LiDAR (3D laser scanning) entered the picture. With remotely piloted drones, many of the traditional challenges faced by the mining industry have evaporated.
There are many benefits to employing drone-mounted laser scanning in underground mining. For starters, keeping humans at a safe distance eliminates the need for work stoppage in a mine. Instead of a slow process that focuses on safety and is hampered by inaccessibility, mine surveying has become a streamlined, straightforward process that yields an unprecedented volume of data needed to produce a growing number of applications, including:
- 2D and 3D maps
- Models
- Digital twins
- Inspections
- Mineral exploration/sensing
- Volumetrics
- Monitoring
Underground LiDAR Scanning Solutions
It’s no secret that mining is a dangerous occupation. Even with modern mining equipment, accidents happen. The most horrifying stories make the news, such as the 2010 Chilean cave-in in which 33 miners were trapped in an underground mine shelter for 69 days before being rescued. But injuries and fatalities occur with alarming infrequency.
Just a few of the hazards facing mining personnel include:
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
- Heavy machinery accidents
- Explosions
- Roof collapse/shaft cave-in
- Poisonous gasses, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and methane
When you deploy drone-mounted LiDAR for mine surveying, however, humans stay safely out of harm’s way. Drones can access remote, dangerous areas to mine valuable data from the depths.
Underground Mine Surveying Experience at Work
Darling Geomatics’ extensive experience in mine scanning with drones has helped clients worldwide. One of the challenges we’ve been handed is reopening inactive mines, both surface and underground. Mines that have been shuttered for decades must be surveyed but sending in human teams poses many risks.
We helped reopen a Nevada gold mine that had lain dormant for more than 25 years. Because of odd shaft angles, partial tunnel collapse, and rock falls, entering the main entrance shaft was out of the question.
A caged drone and ground-based LiDAR were used to capture the data needed to create high-density point cloud maps and georeferenced 3D as-built models of the underground shafts and facilities. From drone surveys to deliverables, the entire process took only a matter of days.
Applying AI to Mine Mapping and Inspection
As fast as innovations in the field of LiDAR mine mapping and inspection have been, applying AI to the process promises even more amazing advances in speed, accuracy, and complexity. Autonomous drones and highly nuanced robotics will allow deeper exploration, enable decision making, and deliver results even faster.
AI-driven scanning tools will be able to analyze geological data better and faster; monitor equipment to predict failure, help maximize maintenance, and extend the life of machinery, and effectively monitor conditions, including vibration, air quality, and heat.
3D Laser Scanning Solutions
Darling Geomatics has remained on the cutting edge of surveying technology since our founding in 1998. Our clients know they can rely on us for accurate, repeatable data. We have a history of working with industries to find solutions to the thorniest problems.
If you aren’t employing 3D laser scanning for your underground surveying, monitoring, and inspection, you aren’t working at a 21st century level.
Why rely on traditional surveying methods that take far longer?
Why risk human lives unnecessarily?
Why endure costly work stoppage?
Why settle for inaccurate data?
Why leave inaccessible areas unexplored?
There’s no reason to remain stuck in the past. Let Darling Geomatics bring your operations into the 21st century with state-of-the-art data-driven underground mine scanning and mapping.
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