Understanding Bench Slope Safety and Degradation Using Drone Surveys - January 26th 2023
Understanding Bench Slope Safety and Degradation Using Drone Surveys - January 26th 2023
Date: January 26, 2023
Time: 6:00 p.m. - Social Hour, 7:00 p.m. Dinner, 7:30 p.m. Evening’s Speaker & Topics of Discussion
Location: Copper Country Bar & Grill, Bagdad, AZ
Dinner Options: Buffet
Sponsors: THANK YOU!
Dinner Sponsor - Arcadis
Speaker: Amon Soni
Door Pricing: $20 online, $25 at the door.
Analyzing Slope Design Conformance using Drone Survey Point Cloud in an Open Pit Mine
Authors: Soni, A., Zea, R.E., Combs, J., Tejada, L.C., Johnson, J.
Adherence to slope design in an operational mine environment is essential for geotechnically safe excavations and better production. As a pushback advances, tracking compliance to design, including bench face angles and catch-bench widths, allows for economic optimization of the highwall. This study utilizes scans from a drone survey and Maptek’s Inter-Ramp Compliance tool to analyze slope design conformance. Virtual cross-sections across the bench profile are created and analyzed to check if bench parameters are within defined tolerances. Statistical data and heat maps are used to identify areas of concern and check the overall compliance in terms of reliability. Also, comparisons are made between compliance results for scans obtained by a drone versus a vehicle/tripod-mounted LiDAR. The results are used for improving future design parameters, excavation practices, and blast designs for safe and economical mining.