Drones and sensors could enable '4D monitoring' of mine waste

Drones and ground sensors could one day be used to improve safety and land rehabilitation across mine sites, according to a team of researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ).

Lead investigator Dr Thierry Bore, from the School of Civil Engineering, said safe management and rehabilitation of mine waste is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry.

“Mine waste is currently monitored using expensive and challenging drilling techniques and sometimes the results aren’t accurate,” he said.

“We are developing advanced technologies to capture electromagnetic measurements which could tell us what is happening in the soil, rock and water underneath.”

This method is currently used in agriculture, Bore said, but when combined with geochemical information from mine waste, there is a possibility that it could be applied to the mining industry.

Bore said that, if successful, the project’s concept would allow 4D monitoring using space and time, covering a mine’s whole life cycle. It would also reduce the dependency on laboratory testing.

“There is an increasing demand for critical minerals such as nickel, copper and cobalt, which are used to build modern technologies including solar panels, electric cars and batteries,” Bore said.

“This growing demand will result in more mining and therefore more waste, which is why this technology is vital for the industry.”

Associate Professor Mansour Edraki, from UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, said the project built on the university’s previous research. “We are taking full advantage of existing capabilities within UQ and using existing knowledge in new ways,” he said.

“Our team combines expertise in geochemistry, geotechnics, geophysics, mathematics and agriculture, and we are also working with collaborators at the Sorbonne University in Paris.”

Development of the new method is being funded by mining company Rio Tinto under a three-year contract, and will be tested at one of its overseas sites.

Rio Tinto Closure R&D Manager Santiago Barrera Ramirez said the collaboration aligned with the mining giant’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact and finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

“We recognise that while mining and processing can extend over decades, our role as stewards of the land is temporary and we always look to innovate and implement best practices in site closure and remediation,” he said.

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