Aggregate & Mining

Aggregate & Mining

Drone Services for Aggregate & Mining Operators in Alberta

Published 2026-05-22 · UAV Imaging Inc.

UAV Imaging supports Alberta aggregate, sand-and-gravel and surface-mining operators with a focused service stack: monthly stockpile volume, pit plan updates, bench mapping, haul road and pad design surveys, and ore-pass / shaft inspection when collision-tolerant flight is required.

What we do for aggregate and mining operators

Stockpile volume measurement

RTK photogrammetry on the Matrice 300 produces total-volume figures inside 1-2% of ground-survey baseline for typical open-air piles. Single-flight cycles per yard, deliverable inside 2-3 business days, monthly or quarterly recurring schedules. See the working case study at stockpile drone vs ground survey.

Pit plans and bench mapping

Pit boundary, bench geometry, haul road grade, stockpile footprint and progress against the approved development plan captured at 2-5 cm horizontal and vertical accuracy with RTK ground control. Outputs include orthomosaic, contour CAD, digital surface model and a regulator-ready PDF report.

Haul road and pad design survey

Site topo for new haul road, equipment pad, or processing-plant footprint. Cross-section and longitudinal grade information extracted directly from the drone-built surface model and shipped to the civil designer as DXF or LandXML.

Ore-pass and underground shaft inspection

Flyability Elios 2 collision-tolerant drone flies inside ore passes, crusher chambers, stope drawpoints and ventilation raises without entry permits. Visual condition record, damage callouts and 3D point cloud where the carbon-fibre cage operates inside the structure.

Reclamation progress documentation

Repeat flights tied to reclamation milestones — topsoil placement, contour establishment, revegetation cover — producing a time-stamped photographic record for regulator submissions and surety release.

Common deliverables

Regulatory and contractor-management coverage

Where we work

Active aggregate corridors across Alberta — the Battle River valley pits, central Alberta gravel operations along Highway 13 and Highway 21, North Saskatchewan River sand operations, southern Alberta crushed-stone, and surface-mining sites in the Coal Branch and Hinton areas. Edmonton-based dispatch, regional standby crews for multi-day field work.

Related

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is drone stockpile volume vs an Alberta Land Surveyor crew?
On open-air piles, total-volume delta is routinely inside 0.5-2% of the ALS baseline. Side-by-side comparisons on real Alberta aggregate yards put a typical six-pile total within 0.6%. Steep faces and concave geometry are where photogrammetry actually outperforms ground-shot density.
Does the drone work disrupt loader and truck operations?
No. Drone flights run above active operations. No crew on the piles, no equipment shutdown, no scheduling around survey windows.
Can drones inspect underground crusher chambers and ore passes?
Yes. The Flyability Elios 2 collision-tolerant drone flies inside crusher cavities, ore passes, stope drawpoints and raise headings without entry permits. Deliverable is 4K + thermal record plus damage callouts.
Can a monthly drone flight feed our existing mine-planning software?
Yes. Point clouds export as LAS / LAZ; surfaces export as DXF, LandXML or SHP, which import directly into MineSight, Surpac, Vulcan and most civil-engineering CAD environments.
Do you provide reclamation progress documentation for AER submissions?
Yes. Repeat flights tied to reclamation milestones produce time-stamped photographic records suitable for Alberta Energy Regulator reclamation reporting and surety release packages.
Need a quote? Call 587-532-9000 or contact us online for commercial drone services across Alberta.