Drones for Drilling & Blasting

With accurate geospatial data, mining operators can optimize the management of their minerals excavation, quarry, pit, or aggregate operation. No tool collects this data as precisely, efficiently, and safely as a drone.

Nelson Brothers supports the mining industry by offering high-quality, cost-effective drone mining inspection and surveying services. With a team of experienced Federal Aviation Administration-licensed drone pilots, we can quickly and efficiently meet your aerial surveillance needs. 

With a single automated flight, a mining drone can collect timely, georeferenced imagery. This data can be used to make critical decisions.

Historically, surveying and mapping mineral landscapes are costly and time-consuming processes involving aircraft, pilots, and surveying professionals. Additional surveying meant more expenses. Nelson Brothers drones provide an edge for customers by collecting unlimited aerial data, including fine measurements, through capturing high-resolution aerial photographs. 

Drones enable engineers to produce 3D models of 'pre-blast and post-blast areas. These models can be used to calculate the volume of minerals extracted after blasting, monitoring muck pile movement, measuring cast profiles and swell factors and evaluating fragmentation.

We work together with mining operators to understand this data and optimize mineral extraction through blasting.

Mining is a dangerous industry, especially for those who perform subterranean labor. Workers can face hazards like rock falls, extreme humidity, gas leaks, dust explosions, and floods. Our drones mitigate risks with the ability to be deployed into underground mines to monitor and inspect deep shafts. 

Furthermore, drones are suitable for mining equipment visual inspection. This is an otherwise expensive and time-consuming activity performed by highly trained quality assurance personnel. Mine conditions impact the duration they can spend underground, impacting the quality of assessment. With drones, inspections aren't constrained by conditions or time and can be incredibly thorough. 

A primary challenge of mining is the continuous management of inventories.  Whether aggregate, coal, heavy metals or other mined materials, Nelson Brothers drones can produce aerial terrain models of inventory safely and efficiently at regular intervals. This reliable, consistent data enables mining operators to keep track of stockpile movement  and measurements (volume).

Since mining involves the removal of earthen materials, the work environment constantly changes. Our drones produce high-resolution images used to check on otherwise difficult-to-access or high-traffic areas without endangering personnel, and have the ability to assist in clearing blast areas and/ identifying trespassers on the mine sites. 

The roadway network used to move people, equipment, and excavated minerals into and out of a mining site greatly influences operational efficiency. Drones collect extensive amounts of aerial data, taking detailed images of vast areas quickly. Our team works with engineers to utilize this data to better plan, design, construct, and maintain these networks. 

In mining, weather and round-the-clock vehicle passage can cause existing roadways to deteriorate. Road conditions must be constantly monitored to maintain safe and effective transit. Nelson Brothers make it easy to obtain reliable, consistent data through our drones.

At Nelson Brothers, we strive to provide a comprehensive suite of services to mining companies. Drone mining inspectionbe seamlessly paired with other mining operation support solutions, improving efficiency and productivity. Our capabilities include:

Drones in mining can be used to help the blaster-in-charge clear the exclusion zone before blasting. They can quickly sweep the area, obtaining views otherwise not achievable from the ground. Additionally, these unmanned aerial vehicles can safely film blasts from locations inaccessible to conventional tripod-mounted cameras.

Give us a call to learn more about drones for drilling and blasting. Our experts are happy to discuss your needs in greater detail.