Drones at Bozshakol

KAZ Minerals Bozshakol has been making increasing use of drones throughout the mine site in order to promote safe and efficient work across its operations. Worker safety is our highest priority and KAZ Minerals actively seeks to identify areas of its operations where technology can be used to achieve a reduction in hazardous work by staff.

Drones have been used to automate surveying work, where they can deliver comprehensive and real-time data when combined with photogrammetry software. Drones are able to access hard-to-reach areas around the open pit, stockpiles and waste dumps, which removes the requirement to send survey teams to areas where access is difficult or dangerous.

Additionally, drones have been used to assess the condition of power lines and determine whether routine maintenance is required. This reduces the requirement for staff to work at height and provides a significant safety benefit.

High resolution aerial photography of the Bozshakol tailings storage facility has provided a significant benefit to the on-site team when assessing the condition of the tailings storage facility as a whole, including the condition of embankments and distribution of suspended material in recycled water. Drones can be used to provide ongoing surveillance of the tailings storage facility to allow a proactive response to any identified issue.

The Bozshakol management team has also used drones in its geotechnical works at the pit, enabling an ongoing assessment of slope stability and the mapping of open pit walls. Drones have also proved useful in site planning, including the placement of ore stockpiles, waste dumps, topsoil stockpiles, the location of roads and the design of power lines in order to drive ongoing safety improvements and operational efficiencies.