Diamond Mine Stockpile Survey

All along the western coast of Southern Africa there are towering mounds of sand. They are the result of years of diamond mining by some of the world’s biggest mining companies. What might surprise the casual observer even more is that all the sand for these literal mountains came from the ocean.

Vast quantities of sand from the ocean floor are dredged up and pumped to processing plants on the shore. They are looking for diamonds which had been carried down the Orange river and deposited into the Atlantic ocean countless ages ago. This separation process produces the endless supply of sand residue that forms the man-made mountains along our coastline. As one can imagine these sand residue dumps occupy large areas of space, space which the mining companies need for additional operations.

Accurate surveys to determine the area and volume of the residue dumps are critical for mining operations to continue smoothly. Darkwing Aerials was contracted by a large mining firm to conduct an aerial survey at one of their mines. There were three massive residue dumps that had to be surveyed in just two days. To accomplish this mammoth task we deployed our toughest industrial drone: the DJI M300 Enterprise. Equipped with the excellent Zenmuse P1 camera the M300 can capture large areas with great resolution.

The impressive capabilities of the P1 camera allowed our drone team to survey each residue dump quickly. They captured images and video that allowed our client to assess every detail of the residue dumps. The all-weather capabilities of the DJI M300 also came in very handy when the weather along the coast became unpleasant. Despite strong winds that would have grounded smaller drones, the M300 carried on without even taking the slightest notice.

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