Historical satellite imagery for tailings storage facility management at African mines

The mining industry relies heavily on accurate and comprehensive topographic data for exploration, planning and sustainable resource management. This is particularly true for tailings storage facility (TSF) management. However, historical data gaps can hinder these efforts, especially in regions with limited ground-based observations. Focusing on the Mopani Copper Mine TSF in Zambia and the Jagersfontein Mine TSF in South Africa, this paper illustrates how the use of optical satellite imagery dating back to the 1960s can address these gaps and provide a robust historical dataset for mine sites and TSFs across Africa. The methodology involves the integration of multi-temporal satellite data with advanced image processing techniques to generate both orthorectified images and topography. The results demonstrate the potential of historical satellite imagery to offer valuable insights into past site conditions and configurations. By filling critical data voids, these retrospectives help enhance the current, or prospective, operators’ understanding of site management through its development and operations, thereby informing contemporary decision-making processes.