Demand grows in N.W.T. for drone-led site surveys

Drones are helping save time and money when it comes to surveying remote mining sites and other infrastructure in Canada's North, and at least one business in the N.W.T. says demand for the technology is growing.

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Canada's second diamond mine, Diavik, put two drones to work about a year and a half ago for its latest expansion project.

Every two weeks, the drones fly high above the site, measuring the volume of piles of crushed rockabout threemillion tonnes' worththat's being use to build a massive dike to access Diavik's fourth kimberlite pipe.

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The new technology means thata job that once took two surveyors several days to complete on foot can now be completed in about 45 minutes.

"You've got moving equipment, dozers and trucks. You don't want people on foot in the mix there," said Gord Stephenson, the engineering superintendent for the new pipe.

"We've used it in inspections in open pits. We can no longer see the floor so we have been able to provide regular updates and imagery to the underground mine to help them plan some of their work.I think we're just tapping into the potential applications here."

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Colin Charlton, of Ollerhead & Associates, which produces surveys and aerial photography throughout the territory for the construction, mining and transportation sectors, says traditional methods of aerial surveying may take up to sixmonths.

With drones,"We can turn a product around in less than a week," he said.

Since the company introduced the fixed wing UAV three years ago, Charlton says it's gone from being used for10 flights annuallyto upwards of 50 each year.

The company holds a special flight operating certificate from Transport Canada, allowing it to operate drones above airports and beyond in the N.W.T.

'I believe we are at a turning point'

Made of mostly Styrofoam, the fixed wing drone is equipped with a high resolution camera, GPS and radar technology.

During a 45-minutesurvey flight, the unmanned aerial vehicle soars above the ground in a grid formation, snapping hundreds of images.When linked together, the imagescan be used to create static maps and 3D models that arerich in data.

"When I say we acquire mass amounts of information, we're mapping the large trackof land at two to threecentimetreintervals," said Charlton. "Gathering everything from trees, light poles, tracking in the ground.It's very high resolution."

That informationcan then be mined repeatedly, without necessitating a returnto the site.

Charlton says that due to the demand, expanding the fleet is a significant possibility.

"I believe we are at a turning point," he said. "I could see us jumping from one,to two, to three easily."