Leveraging UAS in Underground Mining for Process Improvement and Rock Mass Monitoring

ABSTRACT: Henderson mine has engaged in concerted efforts to better understand the impacts of drilling quality on cave development and other excavation blasting. Building upon earlier successes, Henderson has implemented a multi systems approach to remotely map and monitor cave development. Utilizing a UAS with high-definition video and a LIDAR payload, coupled with production drill data, Henderson Mine has enacted a step-change improvement in remote excavation mapping, leading to improved accuracy of planned versus actual cave geometry and refinements to blast design. This data aids in optimizing the drilling/blasting cycle and cave management during initiation through production. These efforts, coupled with existing geomechanical monitoring technologies (micro-seismic, TDR, smart markers) also provide improved insight into cave morphology, behavior, and rock mass modelling.