Author: Eloise McMinn Mitchell, Flyability
If we can’t grow a resource, the chances are we have to mine it instead. The mining sector is expanding with unprecedented speed, driven by advancing technology and insatiable demand. However, the challenges associated with mining are nearly unchanged in this millennia-old industry: moving heavy material, working in dangerous environments, and searching for new material.
Within the challenges of mining, and especially underground mining, the safety of mine workers is paramount. We’re able to mitigate the impact of gases, flooding, and similar natural catastrophes with greater efficacy than in the past, but we are still looking for ways to reduce annual fatalities and injuries to 0. An unlikely tool is offering a way to achieve this: drone technology.
Drones are being used underground to inspect and access areas that are unsafe for human entry. This could be anything from inspecting voids after an explosion to exploring old workings that are too old to reach safely. Drones that give surveyors remote access can gather critical data for the mine’s continued operation without putting people in harm’s way or slowing down operations. This is the ideal solution. One drone that stands apart from the crowd is the Swiss-made Elios 3.
The Ultimate Underground Mine Drone
Designed and built in Switzerland, the Elios 3 is a unique drone. The design of this UAV features a protective cage that surrounds the motor and propellors. This allows it to survive collisions, recognizing and recovering from impact through a combination of hardware and custom firmware. Not only that, but the drone also features a 4K camera and 16,000-lumen lighting rig. This gives pilots clear visibility underground or in confined spaces, such as inside ball mills for asset inspections. The issue of dust is also not a concern for this drone; a LiDAR payload simultaneously maps and localizes the drone’s position about its surroundings so that pilots can navigate via the camera or the live 3D model. This makes it possible to fly in highly dusty environments where the camera view is obscured.
This LiDAR payload is part of why this drone is being adopted by mines around the world. The laser scanner this drone carries can achieve centimeter-accurate results. Combined with the drone’s exhaustive access to confined spaces, surveyors can get critical insights and maps of environments they cannot reach. For example, if an ore pass is clogged, the drone can fly from both above and beneath the slot raise to determine the nature of the clog. At one mine in the USA, such a situation occurred and it took 2 months of trying other solutions before someone decided to see if a drone could solve the problem. Within a 10-minute flight, the Elios 3’s laser scan had shown the nature and size of the blockage, allowing for it to be cleared with appropriate measures shortly afterward.
The Elios 3 is robust, rugged, and ready to fly in the most challenging environments. Key applications of this drone include surveying and mapping inaccessible places, volume calculations, progress mapping, and monitoring mining equipment. It is already in action around the world at some of the biggest and most challenging mines, including Glencore Kidd in North America, operating at depths of 10,000 feet.
Mining Drones in South Africa
The African mining sector is one of the fastest adopters of this technology. One example is the Palabora copper mine, managed by Palabora Mining Company in South Africa. Ground was first broken here in 1956 and 70 years later, the mine is one of the largest copper producers in the country. They use block caving to extract minerals, excavating beneath the ore body before allowing it to collapse into the space underneath. This void is then scanned before people enter it to ensure it is safe to do so.
However, capturing this initial scan can be difficult. If boulders move unexpectedly, anyone stood near the void could be in danger. Palabora used a boom or long staff to push a laser scanner into the space while the surveyor stands several meters away from the void. This is safer than entering the space, but the mine wanted to create more distance between the void and the surveyor to reduce any injury risks. This is where they brought in the Elios 3. Now, a pilot can stand up to 100 meters away from the void and direct the drone to fly into the opening. The flight’s data collection includes video footage and a LiDAR scan of the cavern. Afterward, the results are imported to the Elios 3’s software Inspector for analysis. This analysis includes assessing ore deposit locations and the efficacy of the blast. The drone also has greater access to the void, providing more data than was available in the past.
This isn’t the only use of the Elios 3 at this mine. The surveying team at Palabora also uses the Elios 3 to scan supporting pillars and detect changes over time along with the coverage of shotcrete treatment amongst other surveying projects. The surveying team at Palabora use the Elios 3 on a near-daily basis, conducting various surveying and inspection missions around the site.
The Future of Drones in Underground MinesThe key benefits the Elios 3 offers mines are safety, access, and data quality. With clear improvements possible in each of those areas, it is hard to argue with the fact that this technology offers real innovation to underground mines worldwide. With several African mines already spearheading the adoption of this technology and demonstrating the immediate changes it can bring, this solution is expected to continue rising to the challenges of underground mining.
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