Adopting, adapting and sharing new technology is one way that our sites work towards Continuous Improvement. A recent example of this is the introduction of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems, that gather valuable information from the air.
In July 2016, Greenhills Operations acquired a drone to help monitor blasting gas clearance and to conduct post-blast evaluations. From there, the team at Greenhills found there was potential to use the technology in a variety of innovative ways, and drone use expanded to support other functions including photogrammetric surveying for volumes and design, and geotechnical analysis.
“In addition to being a safer method of gathering information from hard-to-reach places, drones give us the ability to provide views and collect data from previously inaccessible areas as well as job site overview data—information that is provided to operators, helping increase productivity,” says Anna Mihalj, Mine Technician, Greenhills.
After realizing the value that drones added to certain tasks at Greenhills, the next step was to test the technology at other operations. Greenhills loaned their drone to Highland Valley Copper (HVC), where in a single day the drone successfully surveyed all the pits and spoils—a task that otherwise would require a helicopter at a cost of $1,500 per hour. Since then, HVC has also integrated the regular use of drones to perform a variety of tasks, enhancing efficiency.
