M4Mining Objectives
Advancing UAV & Satellite Monitoring for Sustainable Mining
M4Mining is an EU-funded initiative dedicated to improving material characterization during exploration, extraction, re-mining, and environmental impact monitoring. The consortium develops advanced hardware and software for mapping and monitoring active and inactive mining sites, utilizing UAV and satellite sensors. Our goal is to achieve real-time mineral classification via UAVs, enabling seamless 3D visualization for decision-makers. This infrastructure is being developed in collaboration with stakeholders through a dedicated mineral advisory board.
Toolbox for decision-makers
For decision-makers to enable real-time monitoring in mining environments, within the EU and the main EU import markets
The multidisciplinary consortium will engage with the mining industry to identify the needs of decision-makers to create repeatable, intuitive, interpretable, and interoperable data products across spatial and temporal scales (UAVs and satellites). This combination of drone, payload, processing and visualization and satellite data is key in opening up novel, time-critical applications and integrating them in a holistic and safe approach to mine operations and environmental management.
Multi-sensor UAV infrastructure
Develop reliable multi-sensor UAV infrastructure (hardware and software) for deployment within mining environments
m4mining will develop a multi-sensor UAV platform for real-time mapping of material content and distribution in open pit mines and dynamic monitoring for tailings. A hyperspectral imaging system integrated with a 3D lidar, RGB camera, and inertial navigation system will be developed. Methods and algorithms required for real-time location and processing will be distributed using edge computing between the drone and ground station, allowing the resulting products to be inspected interactively in a 3D visualization system.
Multi-scale best practice
Establish best practice in deployment of multi-scale EO technologies in mining
The project will establish a committee of industry stakeholders: a Mineral Industry Advisory Board (MIAB) seeking representation from mid-tier to major mining companies, services companies, and mine waste environmental & rehabilitation agencies. The MIAB will provide input on issues such as industry standardization of data and safe deployment of low-speed UAV systems, and feedback and guidance on the project’s technology and analytical developments.
Close the temporal and resolution gap
Close the gap between satellite data and high-resolution UAV coverage of individual mine faces and daily extraction segments
A key part of m4mining is related to closing the temporal and resolution gap between the mine site scale, typically covered by satellite or nadir-looking drone imagery, and the individual, high-resolution mine faces. This will be realized through interlinked approaches connecting multi-sensor 2D–3D UAV and satellite hyperspectral datasets.
Interface for non-expert users
Provide interfaces and ready-to-use maps for non-expert users in the mining life cycle
Workflows will be developed for automated hyperspectral data processing of geological targets and mining sites, aiming to quantitatively characterize the mineralogy of altered zones, ore bodies, and waste minerals. The software interfaces and data products developed in m4mining aim to provide ready-to-use maps from satellite- and UAV-scale areas for decision-makers.
Novel analysis
Provide data analysis approaches applicable to hyperspectral UAV satellite imagery
The transferability and performance of developed processing and analysis models and methods between scales (e.g. UAV, EnMAP, PRISMA, Sentinel-2 and WorldView3) will be studied as well as different approaches for upscaling spectroscopic-based mineral products and establishing novel multi-scale approaches between mine face and site scale.
