Professionals who adopt technology into their mining operations quickly realize the significant added value they bring to their industry.
When employing technology in mine surveying and mapping, you need to make a well-informed decision of industry trends and the players in the field. You need professionals you can trust. PHOTOMAP is one of the major industry leaders in Surveying and Mapping for the mining industry.
PHOTOMAP has been operating in remote sensing, aerial photography, laser scanning, photogrammetry, land surveying, and geodetic engineering since 2003. The company’s highly qualified team can satisfy the needs of even the most demanding clients. This is thanks to the utilization of innovative technologies of satellite and aerial remote sensing and our expertise in operating and processing the data from a wide variety of sensors such as multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal cameras, LiDAR scanners, and SAR sensors.
Among our many customers are ministries, universities, public administration institutions, state-owned and private companies operating in the state defense and research and development sectors, forest management, agriculture, mining, energy, and construction industries. Engineering and design companies, industrial and residential developers, architects, environmental agencies, and IT solution providers are also ranked among our clients.
Thanks to our partnership with major optical and radar satellite data providers (MAXAR, Airbus, Planet, Capella and others) we can provide valuable geospatial information even in the most remote areas. Remotely sensed data, which are a safe alternative, available at a fraction of the cost of traditional survey methods, are becoming the data of choice for managing large mining projects.
Timely and accurate geospatial information in mining improve the overall efficiency of the large mine site and quarry management, allow regular monitoring and support better coordination among teams onsite and internationally, offering dynamic oversight of all operations.
TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEYS
Uneven terrain can cause difficult and hazardous working conditions for surveyors travelling overland on foot. Satellites can quickly and accuratly acquire topographical information of extensive areas with minimal wear and tear on equipment and low risk.
Based on the project needs PHOTOMAP can provide you with the optical satellite imagery varying from several meters up to 30 cm spatial resolution anywhere in the world. Depending on the requirements, an existing image from the archive can be used or a new tasking of the satellite can be ordered. Seamless mosaic of orthorectified images can be used to map surface features, infrastructure, and topography, for planning purposes or as a base map layer in your GIS.
Regular imaging of the mining site can be used for change detection and monitoring purposes, to assess the environmental impact, or to detect illegal activities.
DIGITAL TERRAIN MODELS
Stereophotogrametry and image correlation technique using two images of the same area acquired under different angles can be used to produce detailed digital terrain or surface models (DTM, DSM) and terrain contours. Digital terrain models can provide accurate 3D information of the whole mining site at the time of the image acquisition or can be used for large-scale structural mapping in new potential mining sites.
Our experienced staff can use an image stereo pair to map the 3D features using stereovision on a photogrammetric station. Such features usually include infrastructure and terrain break lines.
STOCKPILE SURVEYS
High-resolution digital terrain models and frequent satellite revisits allow accurate stockpile volume calculations on regular basis, detection of the changes in the mine site, and calculation of the volumes extracted or added between revisits. This information can be used for inventory reporting or audit purposes. Studies show that satellite-derived stockpile volumes are within 2% of the most accurate calculations derived from LiDAR data. Stockpile reports can be generated automatically on a regular basis for a better understanding of the development of the mining site.
MINERALOGICAL MAPPING
RGB imagery may be sufficient for topographic mapping, but current multispectral and future hyperspectral satellites can collect much more information that can be seen by human eyes. Additional image bands collected mostly in the near-infrared, shortwave-infrared, or thermal-infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can be used to extract additional information like the chemical composition of the minerals. WorldView 3 is currently offering a combination of the highest spatial and spectral resolutions in the VIS – NIR – SWIR range on the market, which makes it very well suited for mineralogical mapping and large area mineral exploration.
RADAR IMAGING AND DEFORMATION MONITORING
In tropical areas, with a permanent cloud cover, radar may be an ideal solution for monitoring. As an active imaging system using longer wavelengths as visible light, synthetic aperture radar can penetrate clouds, capture the mine site regardless of the weather conditions and also during the night.
Utilizing the full radar information consisting of the intensity of the reflected signal and the phase information, using interferometric techniques of InSAR and DInSAR, it is possible to create digital terrain models and measure terrain deformations. Differential interferometry can produce deformation maps of large areas with millimeter accuracy and measure deformation evolution over time. This information can be used to monitor infrastructure stability, monitor subsidence, and landslides and identify potential hazardous areas.
