African Gold Mine Search & Rescue Operation

Background

In May 2021, a critical incident at an African gold mine saw the managing director urgently seeking external assistance with a search & rescue operation.

One of the largest & oldest gold mines in the world had recently begun re-mining. With establishment phases complete, the mine was fully productive when suspected pillar failure caused a ground collapse in one of the smaller mining stopes.

When the crisis hit, rescue teams sprang into action, conducting exhaustive searches of the accessible areas over a period of days. As they advanced, increasingly difficult conditions underground meant that the standard search procedures were proving fruitless. With uncertainty about the stability of the search area heightening the risk to rescue teams, & with one contractor missing, the company sought a technological solution.

The chief surveyor & managing director immediately reached out to the two major drone operators in the region. The mine in question had previously been introduced to Rocketmine’s capabilities during a road show & were hopeful that the company’s assets & expertise could assist & augment the human search & rescue operation.

Rocketmine solution

Rocketmine’s Eric Delabrousse was in Johannesburg when he received the first of a long line of outreach calls from the mine’s chief surveyor & managing director.

After learning that the closest drone was in the U.S. & potentially weeks away from availability, the surveyor made clear the critical nature of the scenario & the complexity of the mine’s environment, which runs to a depth of 1500m & has shafts & a single access decline with interlevel development of between 15 & 30 metres.

Delabrousse Immediately Set The Wheels In Motion To Expedite Bringing The Technology To The Mine’s Aid.

Coordinating the logistics of dealing with numerous stakeholders – l& & air transport, courier pick-ups & delivery – thirty-six hours later, both the Rocketmine operator & drone were in-situ & ready to begin flying into inaccessible areas.

A second underground mapping operator engaged by the mine arrived on site but was unable to configure their drone & provide support.

Thus, over the next two weeks, it was up to Rocketmine to scrutinize the site, identify safe zones for flying & pick up where the search & rescue crews had left off.

Rocketmine flew their drone every day using intelligent LiDAR laser collision avoidance technology to provide eyes on the problem within the no-go zone & GPS denied environment.

This radical AI technology provided crucial detail to surface crews; helping to assess the impact of the collapse without further risk to life. Additionally, the speed & clarity of their image & data gathering meant the mine’s survey & geotechnical departments were fully informed at each step of the operation.

In particular, the scans provided by Rocketmine provided the following outcomes:

• Accurately measured the nature, extent & volume of the void created by the subsidence.
• Revealed other already-existent voids in that area that were not captured by previous CMS scans.
• Accurately captured the multiple ground movements which continued to occur during the daily scans.
• Provided the data which enabled the excavation of the failed material & its impact on the subsidence area (void), which eventually led to the discovery of the missing contractor.
• Upon Conclusion Of The Operation, The Mine Noted The Professional & Efficient Action Of Rocketmine; In Particular, The Success Of Both Operator & Technology In Delivering Outcomes.

Industry Challenge

While it is a given that mining remains a high-risk working environment, technology now exists to dramatically improve the safety of employees & operations. This case study illustrates the power of drone technology, not only in increasing safety, but also in diminishing the huge impact of losses, & potentially weeks or even months of lost productivity, in the wake of critical incidents.

Historically, the mining industry has made enormous advances in risk reduction & promoting safety awareness; most recently by investing heavily in autonomous machinery & computerised equipment. Rapid response protocols & procedures are vital in supporting any human activity on mine sites & it is crucial that mine owners keep abreast of the technology which can support this. However, simply purchasing expensive equipment is not the silver bullet.

As demonstrated by Rocketmine in this scenario, the AI technology is valuable & accessible. With mine sites expanding & more re-working of older mines, automated mapping & monitoring areas of concern is critical.

Rocketmine’s Use Of Drones Equipped With Lidar Laser Technology Allows Underground Scanning Capacity, Which Delivers Rapid, Accurate Information To Geotechnical & Survey Departments.

The outputs & benefits of this process include:

• Extent & volume of void (mined-out area).
• QA/QC on blasting activities (overbreak, underbreak).
• Monitoring & advising on safety of mining activities (open holes & voids around excavation areas).
• Monitoring of mining pillars, stope stability, slopes & highwalls.
• Monitoring condition of ground & support systems.
• Monitoring rock mass movement & failure prediction.

Using underground mapping technology to safely capture data & footage from inaccessible areas can enable quick, actionable responses to save lives & mitigate the impact of prolonged, expensive closures.

Achieving this winning formula relies on engaging a team whose knowledge of the drone technology, combined with professional expertise, maximises outcomes & helps anticipate & avoid costly problems.