The use of drones for mapping open-pit mines is well established but flying drones underground in dark, unstable, inaccessible areas without the availability of global positioning systems (GPS) has been an impossible task – until the introduction of the revolutionary new Elios 2 drone, available from Gammatec.

Flyability’s Elios 2 drone has been created specifically for confined space inspections, offering a state-of-the-art solution, creating photogrammetric models of underground mines in confined spaces previously impossible to inspect. 

The Elios 2 was put to the test at Barrick Gold Corporation’s Golden Sunlight Mine in Whitehall, Montana, US, to demonstrate how the drone conducts inspection and mapping of areas and provides visual information to support mining operations and improve safety.

The results? “All expectations were surpassed,” enthused founder and president of Unmanned Aerial Services, Matt Mackinnon, an advisor to Flyability in the creation of the Elios 2.

“How the drone flies, how it stays stable in flight and can lock its distance, how it’s able to access confined areas, the image quality, the new oblique lighting—the Elios 2 checks nearly every single box for what we need to conduct underground inspections in mines,” he added.

Key benefits include:

• Safety: Visual data of excavation sites enables safe access to no-go zones 
• High quality data: High-definition 4 K video and high-quality images provide for the ongoing development of a stope
• Ease of use: Stabilisation and a robust, caged design for complete, thorough inspections without the risk of collisions
• Significant cost savings: Substantially reduced time to complete surveys and data can be used to maintain safety, reduce waste and increase production

 Applications for mines include: 

• Ore pass inspection
• Stope face inspection
• Pre- and post-blast area inspection
• Asset inspections such as tanks, bins, gangways and internal structures