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Leading aerospace group offering services and products to mining

16th February 2018

By: Rebecca Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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European-based aerospace and defence group Airbus used the opportunity presented by the recent 2018 Mining Indaba, in Cape Town to present its products and services relevant to the international mining industry. Systems originally developed for security and intelligence missions could be applied to both mining and exploration activities, the group pointed out.

Airbus Group produces satellites, remote sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles (‘drones’) and manned aircraft. It can supply these systems, or services based on data obtained by these systems, or a combination of systems and services, to clients. To ensure trouble-free, safe, cost-effective operation, the group can provide these capabilities in the form of a full turnkey solution.

“Mining and exploration executives are realising the operational, financial and economic benefits of deploying professional Airbus systems such as the Airbus Aerial data portal, Stack Insight and our unmanned drone systems to safeguard their people, installations, physical assets, operations and distribution systems,” affirmed Airbus sales and business development manager Björn Symank. “For optimal benefit, the data gathered by a combination of various Airbus sensors is fused to create a complex intelligence picture and made available to the customer through a flexible interface. This gives customers greater situational awareness and control. With these powerful tools at their disposal, every dollar spent on effective security generates two dollars in added value to their business.”

The group’s Stack Insight product uses data from Airbus satellites. This data can be used to detect ground changes – for example, for site maintenance and/or planning purposes – the monitoring of operations and/or environmental impacts, and to accurately calculate volumes (for example, of tailings or excavated material). These services can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Stack Insight was specifically developed for the mining and civil engineering sectors. It uses data from Airbus’s Pléiades Earth observation satellite constellation, which provides very high resolution (50 cm) imagery and can provide daily revisits (that is, one of the satellites in the constellation will overfly a desired location very day). It has displayed a margin of error less than 2%. Use of Stack Insight means that specialised equipment, such as Lidar (light detection and ranging, which uses lasers to measure distances), and experts do not have to be sent to mines to gather and process such data. Besides reducing risk, it also cuts costs.

Another Airbus product well suited to mining operations is the DVF2000 ER drone. The device can be used for both inspections at operating mines and for exploration surveillance. With a range of more than 50 km, it has an endurance of eight hours. It can carry a maximum payload of 2 kg and is fitted with a T120 electro-optical/infrared sensor turret, which is gyro-stabilised and so can provide clear, real-time, high-quality images during both day and night.

The DVF2000 ER is certified for use in environmental conditions classified as ‘very severe’. The drone can operate within a tempe- rature range of –10 ºC to +45 ºC. It is launched by a pneumatic catapult and take-off, flight and landing are all automatic. The ground control station has two operator consoles. The operators direct (not fly) the drone and exploit the imagery it provides. Setting up the system for operation is quick and easy, taking less than 25 minutes. (It takes less than ten minutes to assemble the drone itself.)

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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