Mining

Earth Observation for Mining

Eartheye Space is enabling mining companies to enhance their operational efficiency by incorporating space-based data in their exploration and monitoring programmes.

With access to over 475 satellite sensors, miners can task earth observation to meet their needs in four main areas.

1 Efficient Mineral Exploration

2 Tailings Storage Facility Monitoring

3 Methane Gas Monitoring

4 Land Subsidence Monitoring

1. Mineral Exploration

Eartheye Space can help make mineral exploration faster and more cost-efficient.

Mineral exploration teams face ongoing challenges in efficiently assessing mining sites. Traditional methods often provide low-resolution data and rely on costly drilling processes. With increasing demand for critical resources, expediting the exploration phase is crucial.

Eartheye Space offers a solution by providing:

5m Hyperspectral data
SAR Topographic elevation maps

This combination allows miners to:

Pinpoint mineral distribution
Identify rock types
Strategically plan access to valuable areas

Advantages of New Generation Hyperspectral Satellite Data:

1. Improved Spatial Resolution

10x more pixels over the same area
Better chances of discovering small, important areas previously averaged out

2. High Revisit Cycle

Increased likelihood of capturing exposed rock/soil images in cloud-covered areas
Potential for fortnightly cloud-free products in equatorial regions

3. More Spectral Bands

Up to 250 bands available, with a plan to increase to over 400
Enables more precise detection and identification of previously undetected mineral types

Hyperspectral satellite data has proven effective in narrowing down search areas from thousands of square kilometres, saving both costs and valuable time for exploration scientists.

ESRI

2. Mine Tailings Monitoring: Challenges and Solutions

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

Constant monitoring required, even after mine closure
Traditional ground-based systems are expensive and maintenance-intensive
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.

3. Improved Methane Monitoring for Mining Sites

Recent legislative changes and ESG guidelines are requiring mining companies to monitor and report their methane emissions more accurately. Precise reporting helps miners meet regulatory and investor requirements, reducing reputation risk and capital costs.

While sensors in mine shafts are common, they can’t detect emissions from newly exposed benches and stockpiles. Satellite monitoring offers an effective solution:

Daily coverage of large areas without ground-based infrastructure
Multiple sensors with varying spatial and spectral resolutions for precise, localised assessments

SRON Earth

Key Advantages

Quick Visualisation: Near-instant methane hotspot detection and heat maps. Periodic monitoring shows emission changes over time through images and graphs.
Multi-Sensor Integration: Combines data from various satellite operators and sensors, providing more frequent assessments than a single satellite’s 3-5 day revisit interval.
Quantified Source Emissions: Advanced methane plume analysis incorporates individual source data, surface roughness, wind speed and direction, and their variations over time.

By combining routine satellite monitoring with meteorological forecasting models, Eartheye Space develops information feeds that help miners better understand and manage their methane emissions

4. Land Subsidence Monitoring

Monitoring the subsidence or tracking the movement of semi-stabilised surfaces is an important requirement for risk controls and environmental management. Synthetic Aperture Radar (microwave) Interferometry ideally suits land subsidence and any land movement studies. Interferograms can detect millimetric changes by comparing two date compatible SAR images.

Pre event and post subsidence event SAR interferogram

Eartheye Space offers an automated solution for this monitoring process. With a one-time setup, you’ll receive regular data updates to enhance your situational awareness and support your reporting needs. This continuous flow of information empowers you to make well-informed decisions about your operations.

5. Mine Closure

Mine closure linked activities are an integral part of mining operations. Environmental impacts together with social and economic factors must be taken into account after active mining activities are concluded. Satellite platforms provide unbiased and periodic data for transparent monitoring and evaluation of post mining activities and outcomes of designed interventions. Restoration of degraded land, vegetation condition improvement, removal of hardware as planned, are key to such monitoring where wide ranging satellite datasets can help.

Te Ara

Customer Success Stories

Magnium Australia – Combining multiple sensors in the same workflow.

Magnium are tasking hyperspectral imaging sensors in ~5m resolution over mine sites in central Africa from their offices in Australia. They have access to our unique capability of combining multiple sensors in the same workflow, depending on the use cases, while exercising choice. They have access to our unique capability of combining multiple sensors in the same workflow, depending on the use cases, while exercising choice.

“We joined Eartheye Space’s self-service tasking platform because it gives us the flexibility to pay as we task different sensors, such as multispectral and hyperspectral and others in the future, such as SAR, using the same workflow regardless of the satellite operators.”

– Clayton Cross

Chief Operating Officer

As the foundational pillar of a green critical mineral supercluster, Magnium will lead the delivery of high-value, zero-carbon industrial materials creating a sustainable future for advanced manufacturing across the globe.