After a period of intense mining project development, driven by increased emerging market consumption of building-block commodities such as coal, copper, and iron ore, the mining industry now finds itself in a period of cost cutting and capital preservation. Between 2005 and 2015, mining firms worldwide constructed and started up more than 1,230 greenfield mines representing total investment value of $265 billion. The mining boom, which included greenfield mine construction and expansions of existing mines, really peaked in 2012, but significant spending for major mining projects continued in 2013 and 2014, albeit at a lesser rate, as large projects that had started in earlier years reached peak construction.

International Lead and Zinc Study Group's (ILZSG) 2015 overview of the market's supply and demand for lead and zing along with a forecast of the market for 2016.

Overview of arc-preventative motor control centers and how they enhance personal safety, protect equipment and support more reliable operations.

An ideas instead of mining boom has a nice ring to it as a slogan, but what if mining booms and ideas booms are one in the same? http://www.macleanengineering.com/blog/getting-innovation-right

What can drones do for you? If you are wondering how drones can be integrated into your operations, we invite you to read our Drone Mapping Considerations whitepaper. It discusses our experiences in research and development of drone systems and offers advice on integrating drones into your business.

This short PowerPoint tackles the many misconceptions about bolted tanks and leakage. Get the facts!

Customer success story on Deilmann Haniel explaining how Eaton increased safety and operational performance in a difficult climate.

Overview on how to improve flexibility; maximize space while lowering total installed cost of supports in electrical, mechanical, and plumbing (MEP) facility-subsystems.

LP360 for sUAS is an advanced desktop application designed to make easy work of extracting information and derived products from data collected by small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS, UAVs, drones). LP360 works with point clouds derived from LIDAR systems as well as Structure from Motion (SfM, dense image matching, point clouds from imagery, multi-ray, photogrammetry) point clouds. For sUAS data collection and processing, LP360 picks up where point cloud generation tools such as PhotoScan and Pix4D leave off. LP360 has a very rapid Return on Investment (ROI), paying for itself within just a few stockpile edit sessions.

Drone technology and aerial intelligence data enables companies to complete more accurate inventory management and maximize revenue. Download this report to learn more about drone technology for your organization.

Since its inception, AirGon (a wholly owned subsidiary of the GeoCue Group) has focused on high accuracy small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS or drone) for surface mine, industrial and construction site mapping. As a result of helping many customers piece together workflow solutions, it became obvious that a well-integrated softwate kit would save considerable time and frustration. Whether you are the owner/operator of a site or a service provider to the site, AirGon Mapping Suite is intended for just these applications. Rather than acquiring all the necessary components in a piecemeal fashion resulting in a steep learning curve, the mapping suite includes all of the software components necessary to create a smooth workflow solution for high accuracy data acquisition, processing, analysis and data delivery

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS or drones) along with exciting new image processing algorithms are enabling a fundamental change in how stockpile volumetric computations are performed. It is now possible to create accurate three dimensional models of stockpile areas using inexpensive cameras carried by a low cost sUAS (drone). From these 3D models, volumetric computations are easily derived. These new technologies result in significantly lower cost of collection, improved accuracy and non-disruptive data collection. Best of all, they keep data collectors out of harm’s way with collection performed from a low altitude drone.

GeoCue Group Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, AirGon LLC., is bringing to market Loki, our third generation direct geopositioning system for small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS or drone). Direct geopositioning reduces or, in some cases, eliminates entirely, the need for ground control points in high accuracy aerial mapping.

Drone Mapping is the direction that small industrial site and construction mapping is headed. It has significant advantages over all ground based models and generally is less expensive than traditional manned aircraft mapping approaches. Best of all, drone mapping, with the new FAA regulations passed in August of 2016, is a technology that you can fully internalize, resulting in both increased responsiveness and reduced cost when compared to contracted services. This paper will provide you with an overview of the different models that can be used for drone mapping with sufficient detail for you to make an informed choice. You will discover that, with all factors included, acquiring your own technology (hardware and software) may be the most economic long term approach to modernizing your mapping operations.

The amount you pay for your measurement is not your only cost when it comes to inventory. In the industry, we talk about what it costs to measure your inventory, but rarely do we discuss the cost of not measuring your inventory. Cutting costs by rarely measuring inventory could actually be costing your business more money. We invite you to download our article on the costs associated with not measuring your inventory for more information.

We know that geospatial data collection is increasingly accessible. But data is more than just a number. Real solutions come from understanding and analyzing the data that is collected. We work with our clients to develop meaningful deliverables for underground mining applications that save our clients money and improve their operations. Transforming data into actionable insights is what the Firmatek team delivers. Learn more about the data collection and analysis process in our case study by Seaver Hall, Project Engineer.