Environmental monitoring of mine activities using images from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Presentation by Mr Fatwa Ramdani (Researcher – Institute of Geography, Tohoku University, Japan) and Mr Andy Gusty Rangga (GIS Specialist, PT Britmindo).

“Monitoring environmental impacts and vegetation cover in mine sites are an important step in remote sensing applications for mining management. Traditional aerial platforms such as airplanes and satellites are not suitable for these applications due to their low spatial and temporal resolutions. In this study, a UAV equipped with a commercial camera (RGB & NGB) will be assessed for ultra-high resolution image acquisition over an active coal mine site in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. From these images, GNDVI (Green Normalized Vegetation Indices) visible spectral indices will be calculated and evaluated for vegetation fraction mapping. Furthermore, environmental changes will be captured from the optical sensor mounted on the UAV. This provides evidence that visible spectral indices derived from images acquired using a camera onboard a UAV flying at low altitudes are a suitable tool to use to discriminate vegetation health and monitor environmental changes in mine site. This study opens the doors for the utilisation of this technology in precision mine management applications such as reclamation management in which accurate vegetation fraction mapping is essential.” 

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