A UAV Laser Scanning Technique for Automated Mapping of In-Stope Structural Discontinuity Sets in Underground Mines

Paper

Patra, Dibyayan, Baylis, Charles, Ranasinghe, Pasindu, Banerjee, Bikram and Raval, Simit. 2025. "A UAV Laser Scanning Technique for Automated Mapping of In-Stope Structural Discontinuity Sets in Underground Mines." IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Brisbane, Australia 03 - 08 Aug 2025 Australia. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS55030.2025.11243341
Paper/Presentation Title

A UAV Laser Scanning Technique for Automated Mapping of In-Stope Structural Discontinuity Sets in Underground Mines

Presentation TypePaper
AuthorsPatra, Dibyayan, Baylis, Charles, Ranasinghe, Pasindu, Banerjee, Bikram and Raval, Simit
Journal or Proceedings TitleProceedings of IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
Journal Citationpp. 5095-5098
Number of Pages4
Year2025
PublisherIEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Place of PublicationAustralia
ISBN9798331508104
9798331508111
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS55030.2025.11243341
Web Address (URL) of Paperhttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11243341
Web Address (URL) of Conference Proceedingshttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/11242230/proceeding
Conference/EventIGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
Event Details
IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
Parent
IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
Delivery
In person
Event Date
03 to end of 08 Aug 2025
Event Location
Brisbane, Australia
Event Venue
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Event Web Address (URL)
Abstract

Underground mapping and identification of exposed rock mass structures or discontinuity sets is critical in challenging mine regions like stopes for stability analysis and plays a key role in terms of both the economic and safety aspects of an excavation site. However, utilisation of traditional mapping equipment is not feasible in a stope due to the challenges posed by limited accessibility, complex geometries of stopes, unavailability of global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and safety risks. Recent advances in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), portable mobile laser scanning (MLS) LiDAR technology, and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) have led to the development of UAV laser scanners, allowing engineering personnel to remotely obtain 3D point clouds from such challenging regions. This study investigates the use of a UAV laser scanning system for acquiring 3D point cloud of an underground metal mining stope to perform automated mapping of discontinuity sets in the exposed stope surface.

Keywordsstope mining; UAV laser scanning; structure mapping; discontinuity sets
Article Publishing Charge (APC) FundingProject Funding
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020401304. Photogrammetry and remote sensing
401905. Mining engineering
Public Notes

The accessible file is the accepted version of the paper. Please refer to the URL for the published version.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of New South Wales
Broken Hill Propriety Company, Australia
School of Science, Engineering & Digital Technologies- Surveying & Built Env
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