Assessment of the feasibility of a terrestrial scanner in underground and surface mining at BHPB Cannington mine

Abstract

Terrestrial laser scanners are becoming more and more a part of the surveying industry. The high speed, remote capture of considerable amounts of quality data has made the scanner an attractive and valuable surveying instrument. To date most of the uses for a scanner have been surface based applications. This paper investigates the feasibility of using a scanner at BHPB Cannington underground mine to replace traditional survey measurements. The increased speed of remote data capture could contribute to a safer operation and the increased quantity of data would lead to more accurate 3-dimensional models which could contribute to better reconciliation and mine design. To this end a number survey tasks were undertaken in the underground environment. The methodology used was to compare surveys of a stope and drive carried out with a scanner to that of surveys carried out with traditional measurements. Aspects of practicality and data were examined. The study found that it is feasible to use a scanner underground but a financial rationalization study would need to be undertaken to justify the purchase of a scanner.