1.Haul Road Monitoring in Open Pit Mines Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: a Case Study at Bald Mountain Mine Site
作者:Medinac, F (Medinac, Filip)[ 1 ]; Bamford, T (Bamford, Thomas)[ 1 ]; Hart, M (Hart, Matthew)[ 2 ]; Kowalczyk, M (Kowalczyk, Michal)[ 2 ]; Esmaeili, K (Esmaeili, Kamran)[ 1 ]
MINING METALLURGY & EXPLORATION
DOI: 10.1007/s42461-020-00291-w
在线发表日期: SEP 202
Improved haul road conditions can positively impact mine operations resulting in increased safety, productivity gains, increased tire life, and lower maintenance costs. For these reasons, a monitoring program is required to ensure the operational efficiency of the haul roads. Currently, at Bald Mountain mine, monthly site severity studies, ad hoc inspections by front-line supervisors, or operator feedback reporting is used to assess road conditions. These methods are subjective and provide low temporal resolution data. This case study presents novel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies, applied on a critical section of haul road at Bald Mountain, to showcase the potential for monitoring haul roads. The results show that orthophotos and digital elevation models can be used to assess the road smoothness condition and to check the road design compliance. Moreover, the aerial mapping allows detection of surface water, rock spillage, and potholes on the road that can be quickly repaired/removed by the dedicated road maintenance team.
2.Unmanned aerial system protocol for quarry restoration and mineral extraction monitoring
作者:Carabassa, V (Carabassa, Vicenc)[ 1,2 ]; Montero, P (Montero, Pau)[ 1,3 ]; Crespo, M (Crespo, Marc)[ 1,3 ]; Padro, JC (Padro, Joan-Cristian)[ 3 ]; Pons, X (Pons, Xavier)[ 3 ]; Balague, J (Balague, Jaume)[ 4 ]; Brotons, L (Brotons, Lluis)[ 1,4,5 ]; Alcaniz, JM (Maria Alcaniz, Josep)[ 1,2 ]
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
卷: 270
文献号: 110717
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110717
出版年: SEP 15 2020
Mining is an important activity of the primary sector with strong economic and environmental impacts. All over the world, governments have made efforts to regulate mine restoration by monitoring and assessing the evolution of mined sites. Our work aims to synthesize various remote sensing applications into a single workflow in order to obtain cartographic products using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), not only for mine restoration management, but also as a way of monitoring mining activity as a whole. The workflow performs image processing and terrain analysis calculations, which conduct a supervised classification of the land cover. The resulting mapping products include orthoimagery, Digital Surface Models (DSM), land cover maps, volume variation calculations, dust deposition, detection of erosion problems, and drainage network evaluation maps. The data obtained from red-green-blue (RGB) sensors has a spatial resolution of 4-10 cm, providing information that allows the characterization of land covers with an overall accuracy of 91%. In comparison, if using multispectral sensors with the same flight conditions than RGB, image spatial resolution diminishes and land cover characterization accuracy drops to 81%. The resulting digital maps can be fully integrated into Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allowing the quantification of environmental features and spatial changes. Our study provides the basis for creating a large-scale, replicable and ready-to-use workflow suited for monitoring the exploitation of minerals and mine restoration using RGB imagery obtained through drones.
3.Continuous Monitoring and Improvement of the Blasting Process in Open Pit Mines Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Techniques
作者:Bamford, T (Bamford, Thomas)[ 1 ]; Medinac, F (Medinac, Filip)[ 1 ]; Esmaeili, K (Esmaeili, Kamran)[ 1 ]
REMOTE SENSING
卷: 12期: 17
文献号: 2801
DOI: 10.3390/rs12172801
出版年: SEP 2020
The current techniques used for monitoring the blasting process in open pit mines are manual, intermittent and inefficient and can expose technical manpower to hazardous conditions. This study presents the application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for monitoring and improving the blasting process in open pit mines. Field experiments were conducted in different open pit mines to assess rock fragmentation, blast-induced damage on final pit walls, blast dynamics and the accuracy of blastholes including production and pre-split holes. The UAV-based monitoring was done in three different stages, including pre-blasting, blasting and post-blasting. In the pre-blasting stage, pit walls were mapped to collect structural data to predict in situ block size distribution and to develop as-built pit wall digital elevation models (DEM) to assess blast-induced damage. This was followed by mapping the production blasthole patterns implemented in the mine to investigate drillhole alignment. To monitor the blasting process, a high-speed camera was mounted on the UAV to investigate blast initiation, sequencing, misfired holes and stemming ejection. In the post-blast stage, the blasted rock pile (muck pile) was monitored to estimate fragmentation and assess muck pile configuration, heave and throw. The collected aerial data provide detailed information and high spatial and temporal resolution on the quality of the blasting process and significant opportunities for process improvement. The current challenges with regards to the application of UAVs for blasting process monitoring are discussed, and recommendations for obtaining the most value out of an UAV application are provided.
4.Application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) thermal infrared remote sensing to identify coal fires in the Huojitu coal mine in Shenmu city, China
作者:He, XY (He, Xiaoyuan)[ 1,2 ]; Yang, XK (Yang, Xingke)[ 1 ]; Luo, Z (Luo, Zheng)[ 2 ]; Guan, T (Guan, Tao)[ 2 ]
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
卷: 10期: 1
文献号: 13895
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70964-5
出版年: AUG 17 2020
China is a major coal-producing country that consumes large amounts of coal every year. Due to the existence of many small coal kilns using backward mining methods, numerous worked-out areas have been formed. The coal mines were abandoned with no mitigation, so air penetrates into the roadways and contacts the coal seams; as a result, the residual coal seams spontaneously ignite to form coal fires. These coal fires have burned millions of tons of valuable coal resources and caused serious environmental problems. To implement fire suppression more effectively, coal fire detection is a key technology. In this paper, thermal infrared remote sensing from unmanned aerial vehicle combined with a surface survey is used to identify the range of coal fires in the Huojitu coal mine in Shenmu city. The scopes and locations of the fire zones are preliminarily delineated, which provides an accurate basis for the development of fire suppression projects.
5.On the application of drones: a progress report in mining operations
作者:Said, KO (Said, Khadija Omar)[ 1 ]; Onifade, M (Onifade, Moshood)[ 2 ]; Githiria, JM (Githiria, Joseph Muchiri)[ 1 ]; Abdulsalam, J (Abdulsalam, Jibril)[ 3 ]; Bodunrin, MO (Bodunrin, Michael Oluwatosin)[ 4 ]; Genc, B (Genc, Bekir)[ 5 ]; Johnson, O (Johnson, Oluwagbenga)[ 2 ]; Akande, JM (Akande, Jide Muili)[ 2 ]
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MINING RECLAMATION AND ENVIRONMENT
DOI: 10.1080/17480930.2020.1804653
在线发表日期: AUG 2020
The technological advancement of drones benefited the mining industry and positively transformed operations by providing real-time data. This allows for the identification and mitigation of mining hazards as they emerge, rapid collection of data in risky locations and the ability to share accurate maps and models with shareholders. In order to better understand how drones can serve the mining industry in the most beneficial way, this review discusses the major milestones in history that gave rise to the invention of the modern drones. Furthermore, the current applications and future potential of drones in the mining industry are discussed.
