The Problem with Mine Tailings

Mine tailings, the waste byproducts of mineral extraction, pose significant environmental and safety risks:

  • Environmental hazards due to chemical composition and physical state
  • Potential for groundwater and stream pollution
  • Risk of dam leakages and breaches, threatening lives and property
  • Damage to local vegetation
  • Coal mine dumps prone to fires and subsidence
Monitoring Challenges
  1. Constant monitoring required, even after mine closure
  2. Traditional ground-based systems are expensive and maintenance-intensive
  3. Inadequate monitoring has led to dam collapses, ecosystem destruction, and loss of life
Eartheye Space is developing an information feed to help miners monitor tailings facilities more effectively
  • Regular monitoring of dam walls and surrounding areas
  • Detection of movement and subsidence, which are precursors to failure events
  • Assessment of nearby vegetation health to identify leaks or other issues
Surface water body area as on
Day – 1 and Day – 2

Satellite Technology Advancements

Recent years have seen the launch of numerous satellites with advanced sensors
  • Multispectral sensors
  • Thermal sensors
  • Hyperspectral sensors
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
These technologies offer
  • Higher revisit times with daily and sub-daily monitoring capabilities
  • Wide coverage of any location on Earth
  • Data processing using machine learning algorithms to extract valuable information

By leveraging these satellite technologies and data analysis techniques, mining companies can more effectively monitor and manage the risks associated with mine tailings, protecting both the environment and local communities.