April 3, 2025
As the mining industry continues to evolve, its commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable practices has never been more crucial. One of the most challenging tasks facing the mining industry is the effective integration of natural and constructed landforms during and after mining operations. Landform evolution is a complex scientific domain involving geophysical modelling, hydrological movements, and environmental predictions. Ensuring that post-closure landscapes are safe, stable, and environmentally sound requires a collaborative effort between the industry and regulators.
However, traditional monitoring methods often fall short due to their limitations in scale, cost, and technological capabilities. For instance, field-based consulting approaches are costly and limited to site-specific investigations. Drones, while useful for specific applications, prove cost-prohibitive for surveying larger areas and pose safety risks in hazardous sites. Satellite imagery lacks the resolution needed to detect erosion and gullies effectively.
These limitations highlight the need for a more comprehensive and efficient monitoring solution. Outline Global’s aerial intelligence, leveraging LiDAR and digital photogrammetry, offers a transformative approach using aircraft. It provides wide-scale, high-resolution data that can support the monitoring requirements of entire mine landscapes, inform decision-making, and help bridge the gap between operational demands and environmental responsibilities.
Benefits of Aerial Intelligence for Landform Monitoring
With a single aerial flight, Outline Global can cover hundreds of square kilometres, providing a cost-effective, efficient, and safe way to monitor large areas. Our LiDAR technology provides high-resolution data we use to build detailed Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), which, combined with our aerial imagery, enable ongoing change management, scenario modelling, and predictive analysis. By integrating LiDAR and aerial imagery into Landform Evolution Models (LEMs), mining operators can enhance their predictive capabilities for erosion risks, ensuring more accurate assessments of landform stability and environmental sustainability.
The Process: Integrating Aerial Intelligence into Mining Operations
Integrating aerial intelligence into mining operations involves several key steps:
- Baseline Assessment: Conduct initial surveys using LiDAR and high-resolution aerial photography to capture pre-mining topography.
- Ongoing Monitoring: Regular aerial surveys track landform changes, integrating data with ground-based observations.
- Rehabilitation Planning: Use Landform Evolution Models (LEMs) to design stable post-mining landscapes.
- Post-Mining Monitoring: Continue long-term surveillance to ensure landform stability and environmental compliance.
- Compliance and Reporting: Ensure regulatory compliance through regular reporting and adapt strategies based on monitoring data.
Aerial Intelligence in Post-Mining Land Management
Post Mining Land Use (PMLU) and Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Planning (PRCP) are critical frameworks governed by key legislation such as the Mining Resources Act 1989 and the Environment Protection Act 1994. These frameworks emphasize the importance of landform stability and tailing management facility (TMF) management. Outline Global’s multispectral imagery and LiDAR support these efforts by enabling effective remote monitoring of landform conditions such as:
- Surface Stability: Identifying risks associated with drainage management and erosion forecasting.
- Geotechnical Stability: Monitoring TMF design geometry and landform performance.
- Geochemical Stability: Analysing material within TMFs over time and assessing Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) conditions.
- Surface Water: Conducting progressive audits and corrective actions for hydraulic factors.
Erosion Monitoring with Aerial Intelligence
Erosion monitoring is essential throughout the mine’s lifecycle, from operation to post-closure, as it helps mitigate risks to environmental sustainability and infrastructure stability. This is particularly important because mining activities can accelerate erosion, impacting water quality and landform stability. Aerial remote sensing effectively captures situational factors that influence erosion, including:
- Rainfall Erosivity: Capturing changes after extreme weather events to compare pre- and post-event conditions.
- Soil Erodibility: Using computer vision and DEMs to identify soil loss and sediment concentration.
- Topographic Changes: Analysing slope gradients and lengths to understand erosion risks.
- Land Disturbance: Evaluating the coefficient of runoff to assess how land use changes affect hydrology.
Predictive Capabilities of Aerial Remote Sensing
Outline Global’s aerial remote sensing offers a powerful predictive capability, enabling mining operators to proactively manage erosion risks and ensure long-term environmental sustainability by forecasting several critical aspects of erosion:
- Potential Erosion Hotspots: Identifying areas at high risk of erosion based on topography and soil conditions.
- Changes in Soil Stability: Monitoring how soil stability changes over time, especially after rehabilitation efforts.
- Effects of Extreme Weather Events: Predicting how landforms will respond to intense rainfall or other extreme weather conditions.
- Long-term Landform Evolution: Simulating how landforms will change over decades, helping in planning for long-term stability.
A Stable Future Starts With a Single Flyover
Integrating aerial intelligence into landform monitoring is crucial for ensuring long-term stability and sustainability. By leveraging high-resolution DEMs and predictive modelling, mining operators can make informed decisions on rehabilitation strategies and mitigate erosion risks. This approach supports regulatory compliance, enhances environmental stewardship, and reduces liabilities.
To explore how aerial intelligence can support your mine rehabilitation efforts, contact us for a demo.
Outline Global Pty Ltd