Maximize Tailings Capacity and Freeboard Measurement

PhotoSat | October 17, 2019 | 10:03 am

Determine the remaining capacity of your tailings storage facility and meet reporting requirements.

TAILINGS BEACH SURVEYS
Slope measurements accurate to a fraction of a degree.

Lift thickness

Measurement from the edge of the beach to the edge of the standing water.

VOLUME MEASUREMENTS

Simultaneous measurements of tailings, ore stockpiles, waste dumps and mine pits.

SPEED

Delivering within days of photo collection.

Accurately map tailings pond margins and beach lengths

PhotoSat accurately maps tailings pond margins using a combination of the tailings beach slopes and the optical properties of the solid tailings and the water. Accurate mapping of tailings pond margins provides accurate beach lengths measured from the edge of the beach to the water line.

Mapping the margins of standing water in the TSF can be challenging. Wet tailings and tailings pond water can appear very similar in the visible spectrum. This can be seen in the RGB photo above. Processing of multispectral satellite photos including infrared bands can clearly delineate the water bodies.

Determine the remaining capacity of your Tailings Storage

Determining the remaining capacity of your TSF requires accurate and repeatable determination of the edge of the pond and high-density elevation measurements on the beach. Measuring and monitoring tailings beach slopes and the thicknesses of the pours over time verifies TSF capacity models.

Measure tailings beach slopes

The vertical accuracy of PhotoSat surveying enables you to measure the slopes of tailings beaches to a fraction of a degree. Increasing tailings beach slopes increases the capacity of the TSF. Tailings beach slopes can be modified by the addition of thickeners and by adjusting the flow volumes from individual tailings spigots.