Comparing Traditional Methods for Rock Masses Volume Estimation and Those Assisted by UAV’s

Abstract Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) or simply Drones, were first utilized for military purposes prior to World War I. With the popularity of its technology, UAVs are now being utilized for photography, cinema, sports, precision agriculture, and mining. UAVs in mining allow professionals to collect data from wide territories that are typically difficult to access, with outstanding cost/benefit ratio, operational time and reduced manpower. The aircraft’s capabilities include reconnaissance of the area, generation of Digital Terrain and Elevation Models (MDTs and MDEs), and monitoring of mining operations. Despite all of the advantages provided by UAVs, there is tremendous space for technological advancement. It is still a new tool that is heavily reliant on ideal climatic conditions, and without an RTK (Real Time Kinematic) station, the error in the coordinates can approach the magnitude of dozens of meters. For these reasons, more conservative miners and government agencies continue to be skeptical of UAV use. This study showed that, when combined with appropriate processing, data gathered with UAVs can produce results comparable to traditional approaches in less time and at comparable prices.