How Indoor Drones are Beneficial for Mining Operations

Metals and Mining Review | Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Drones offer several advantages as a remote visual data collection instrument in mining operations.

FREMONT, CA: Mining personnel collects high-quality visual data inside stopes and other unstable areas using indoor drones. They are using this data to create 3D models and sparse point clouds of mines, which will aid in their understanding of the conditions within the area and, ultimately, their ability to make decisions about safety, stability, and remaining ore. These enhancements could mark a watershed moment for the mining industry, allowing operations to become safer, more efficient, and significantly more cost-effective. The following are some critical benefits that indoor drones provide mining operations today.

Safety

Stope inspections: Miners were previously unable to enter a stope following a blast. However, by employing an indoor drone to collect detailed visual data of the area, miners can now conduct safety assessments that enable them to make an informed decision about whether or not to enter a stope.

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Mining equipment inspections: By inspecting mining equipment with an indoor drone, inspectors avoid entering confined spaces, being exposed to falling debris or toxic fumes, or standing on potentially dangerous scaffolding. Indoor drones can fly through and around stockpile feeders, mills, flotation cells, and even the crusher, collecting high-quality visual data along the way.

Savings

Identification of residual ore: Indoor drones can assist mining personnel in identifying remaining ore and other geotechnical areas of interest within a stope by providing high-quality visual data. These findings can result in notable cost savings for mining operations by assisting them in recouping more profit from a procedure and highlighting opportunities to expand extraction efforts.

Securely storing expensive machinery: Muckers are large, remotely controlled machines used in mines to move rock and debris. Because a single mucker can cost up to a million dollars, they are precious assets for mining operations. Indoor drones can help keep muckers safe from falling debris by providing detailed insights into the conditions inside a stope, resulting in significant potential savings for mining companies.

Improving downtime: Not only are inspections of processing equipment used in mining operations dangerous, but they are also costly, owing to the downtime required. However, using an indoor drone to collect inspection data rather than having inspectors collect data in person allows operations to continue uninterrupted during the inspection, allowing the mine to realize the cost savings associated with avoiding that downtime.

Access

Indoor drones enable visual data collection that would be nearly impossible to accomplish with any other tool or method. However, it’s critical to note that this type of access is not achieved with just any consumer drone—indoor drones are designed specifically for use in harsh internal environments.

Localization of Data

For mining operations, data localization is used to guide personnel back to a specific location where the remaining ore was spotted during a flight and also to a geotechnical area of interest or a potential hazard that requires further investigation. 

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