Abstract

Currently, there have been no publications of using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in mine management and supervision in Vietnam. Meanwhile, drones have been used in many fields worldwide, especially in exploitation management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the feasibility of applying unmanned aerial vehicles to the management of open-cast mines. The data of this research was collected from Ta Zon 2 quarry using Phantom 4 at two moments (October 2018 and February 2019). Through the methods of calibrating and processing images on specialized software, the authors obtained point cloud data sets and digital elevation models (DEM) of the mining area two times. In which, the point cloud is the key product of the research, this large and detailed data set helps to fully and accurately reproduce and process the DEM and 3D models of the mine area. Next, the authors compared and adjusted DEM of the mine area, resulting in fluctuations of the geological block in Ta Zon 2 quarry which is 21,908 +/- 47 m³. From the obtained results, the study confirms the feasibility and reliability of the method. Thereby, the study opens a new management method of mining activities in open-pit quarries for the Government.