Dundee Precious Metals is known for being technology-forward and always on the lookout for innovative solutions to enhance the safety and efficiency of their underground operations. The traditional methods of collecting geospatial data in an underground mine are not only time-consuming but also limited in terms of the amount and accuracy of data they could gather. Additionally, there are areas in the mine that are difficult or impossible to access with their existing technology, which limits their ability to make fully informed decisions, and introduces possible inefficiencies.
As a long-time partner of Exyn, DPM was keen to test the new Nexys — a modular 3D mapping solution with integrated aerial robotic autonomy — designed to reduce time to capture, increase safety, and drive efficiency for challenging, complex, or dangerous environments.
Using the Exyn Nexys allows DPM to collect geospatial data from the underground mine workings in the safest and most modern manner possible. Safety is their highest priority, and this is one of the main benefits they report from using the system.
The system enables surveyors to safely reach and scan areas that were previously inaccessible, allowing them to make more informed decisions across different mining processes.
Tsvetan Balov, Senior Drilling and Blasting (D&B) Engineer notes:
“Using the Nexys to autonomously scan the stopes gives us greater accuracy. This greater accuracy helps us to more precisely design adjacent stopes or, in the case of blasting issues, to design additional blast holes.”
One notable example of the benefits of using the Nexys system for geospatial mapping in an underground mine is a recent stope with only one access point and a very complicated shape. Due to its complexity, conventional methods were unable to perform a detailed scan of the void. Traditionally, this void would be classified as complete as all of the ore would have appeared to be mined and recovered. However, when the team deployed the Exyn Nexys, they discovered a section of the stope that had not been mined, commonly referred to as an underbreak.
Image of ore body (orange) overlaid with point cloud (blue) and stope plan (purple), showing an overbreak into the ore body that resulted in additional ROI.
Deviations between 5-7% are typical and expected with traditional techniques, however with more complete data exact deviations can be measured for each and every cavity leading to more informed, complete, and efficient mining practices reducing situations where money is being left on the table. DPM has found 10-15% of their stopes have additional ore that is discovered when the stope is completely scanned with the Exyn Solution. With approximately sixty stopes mined annually, the value of the additional ore quickly adds up.
Since adopting the Nexys system, the survey team has significantly increased the number of scans conducted on production stopes. One of the key reasons for this increase is the user-friendly nature of the system — according to the survey team, they look forward to operating it, making safety and efficiency “fun”.
Typically, for a stope with an average lifecycle of 30 days, five to six scans are conducted. This frequency allows them to gather very detailed information throughout the stope’s lifecycle, making it easy for the team to make informed, data-driven decisions to optimize the mining processes.
According to Hristo Dobrev, Senior Mine Surveyor:
“The ability to use it in different configurations, such as a handheld scanner, vehicle-mounted device, and scanning drone, makes it practical and easy to use. It saves the team time and effort, with the final result delivering high quality, actionable data.”
