Move over choppers, here come the exploration drones
There are countless orebodies around the globe, both new and old, that have been given new or extended life thanks to largescale airborne geophysical surveying – the process of determining the geological characteristics from the air of the surface below.
Over recent decades, not much has changed in the way those surveys are done – with one exception – drones are quietly replacing much larger helicopters, and – artificial intelligence and machine-learning are highly sought-after joint-services that take airborne data delivery to new levels.
Companies like Draganfly, one of North America’s only drone manufacturers, are entering the airborne survey market with cost-effective solutions for majors and juniors looking for the kind of data to help them make critical production or exploration decisions.
Draganfly Inc. is an award-winning, industry-leading systems developer within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and the Unmanned Vehicle Systems industry.
The global size of the airborne survey (also known as LIDAR) market is projected to reach USD 6.71 billion by 2026, according to Fortune Business Insights in a June 4 news release. “Driven by increasing investments in the development of newer products, the market will rise considerably in the coming years,” according to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled “Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Mechanical and Solid-state), By Deployment (Ground-based and Airborne), By Application (Mapping and Cartography, ADAS (Advanced driver-assistance System), Surveillance, Environment, Exploration and Detection and Others), By Industry (Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Healthcare, IT & Telecom, Oil & Gas and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026.” The market was worth USD 1.32 billion in 2018 and will exhibit a CAGR of 22.7% during the forecast period, 2019-2026.
In an exclusive interview with Mining Life, Draganfly Chairman and CEO Cameron Chell said it’s the company’s goal to become the number one or two provider of mining industry airborne surveys thanks to a recent strategic acquisition of Global UAV Technologies. The company announced that it entered into a letter of intent with Global UAV Technologies Inc. to acquire two-wholly owned subsidiaries, Pioneer Aerial Surveys Ltd. and High Eye Aerial Imaging Inc.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in business over the past year,” said Chell. “”Primarily because of security issues over foreign-made drones.”
“We kind of call ourselves a data company that makes drones,” adds Chell. “We are focused on producing really unique data for our customers, and other than a smartphone, there is nothing better to collect data than drones and the sensors on the drones.”
Global UAV’s two subsidiaries, Pioneer Aerial Surveys and High Eye Aerial Imaging have been providing services to the mining industry since 2017.
Pioneer Aerial Surveys is a global leader in providing UAV based geophysical surveys to the mining and industrial sectors with a focus on providing magnetic data to clients around the globe. High Eye Aerial Imaging provides LiDAR services.
"Pioneer Aerial and High Eye Aerial are premier aerial service providers in the mining industry. With the increase in global mining activity and the anticipated regulatory clarity of being able to deploy Beyond Visual Line Of Sight use of drones in the mining industry, we see an exponential growth opportunity for Draganfly to become the #1 or #2 global provider of aerial and data services in the mining industry". (See our video Skype interview with Chell at our website www.MiningLifeOnline.net)
Pioneer Aerial Surveys is an industry leader in UAV remote sensing for mineral exploration, mine site surveys, agricultural and forestry related services and safety inspections.
The company developed the first UAV-MAG™ system on the market, and have deployed it in mineral exploration and unexploded ordinance surveys.
Pioneer Aerial Surveys pushes the limits and capabilities of remote sensing in the exploration industry for their client list including major, mid-tier, and junior mining and exploration clients. High Eye Aerial Imaging is committed to providing high quality aerial images from a unique perspective that cannot be obtained by aircraft. High Eye specializes in LiDAR data acquisition.
Draganfly Inc. is the creator of quality, cutting-edge, unmanned vehicle systems and software that revolutionizes the way people do business.
Companies or readers interested in Draganfly services should email support@candrone.com and be sure to mention this article.
Tags: Northern Ontario / Exploration / Gold / All Articles