As drone deployment continues to expand, miners unearth whole-of-mine uses

The use of drones and ground-based robotics is evolving to such an extent locally that various companies are using them in all aspects of their operations, which is resulting in “bun fights” about which department gets to use the devices and payloads, says Dwyka Mining Services MD Jamie van Schoor. Using such technology is in line with calls in industry to embrace Industry 4.0, digitalise workflows and operations, increase efficiency and safety by removing humans from dangerous situations, and increase real-time Big Data capturing.