Remote industrial · Mining · Canada
See more of the site before sending more people into it.
Specialized RPAS, LiDAR, thermal and geospatial acquisition for mining and remote industrial infrastructure.
- Operator
- Issued RPOC
- Pilot
- Level 1 Complex
- Sensing
- RGB · Thermal · LiDAR
- Deployment
- Remote capable
The field reality
Remote sites make simple information expensive.
On a large industrial or mining site, the cost of collecting information is often driven by travel, access, coordination and field exposure rather than by the observation itself.
Scale
A large mine or industrial property can require significant time simply to move between areas of interest.
Access
Slopes, benches, haul roads, water, unstable ground, active industrial processes and restricted areas complicate conventional access.
Field exposure
Some questions can be answered remotely before personnel are sent into higher-risk environments.
Data age
Operations, terrain, construction and material movement change quickly, leaving technical teams working from outdated site information.
Elev8 creates a current aerial and spatial record so teams can decide where detailed ground work is actually necessary.
Applications
One acquisition layer across the site.
Baseline
Existing conditions
Build a current spatial record before expansion, construction, rehabilitation or technical studies begin.
- orthomosaic
- imagery
- point cloud
- terrain
- 3D reality capture
Terrain · surface
Terrain & topographic context
Acquire dense terrain and surface information to support downstream engineering, geomatics and planning workflows. Not a certified topographic survey.
- terrain surfaces
- surface models
- contour data where supported
Access · routes
Haul roads & access
Document haul roads, remote access routes, slopes and surrounding terrain to support planning and field review. Road design remains an engineering function.
- route imagery
- terrain context
- slope context
- GIS
Earthworks · change
Large earthworks
Create repeatable aerial records of changing earthwork areas, excavation, fills and construction zones. Measurement workflows can support project teams where scope and accuracy allow.
- repeat capture
- surface comparison
- volumetric support
Water · terrain
Water / drainage context
Add current visual and terrain context around ponds, drainage paths, channels and water-management areas. Hydrology and drainage design remain with qualified professionals.
- imagery
- terrain
- extent context
- repeat capture
Thermal · condition
Thermal / industrial condition
Use radiometric thermal and visual acquisition to document heat patterns and anomalies across suitable industrial or electrical assets.
- radiometric thermal
- anomaly documentation
- repeat comparison
Reclamation · change
Reclamation & environmental
Repeat aerial and terrain acquisition can support environmental, vegetation and reclamation teams with current spatial information.
- vegetation context
- terrain
- change record
- orthomosaic
Remote · infrastructure
Remote infrastructure
Document isolated facilities, corridors, substations, roads, camps or industrial assets where conventional mobilization is expensive.
- site documentation
- corridor capture
- 3D context
- thermal
Sensing
Different site questions require different data layers.
Best for
- visual condition
- site documentation
- construction
- access
- current conditions
The fastest way to establish what the site looks like right now.
Use the information layer that answers the operational question. Not every mission deploys every sensor.
3D spatial intelligence
Large sites become easier to understand in three dimensions.
LiDAR and other 3D acquisition methods can provide dense spatial information across terrain, infrastructure and vegetation — including areas that are slow, unsafe or simply expensive to walk.
- benches
- slopes
- access roads
- terrain
- drainage context
- site development
- vegetation
- remote corridors
- industrial infrastructure
Spatial acquisition supporting qualified technical teams. Slope-stability analysis, geotechnical conclusions, engineering design and survey certification remain with the appropriate professionals.
Explore LiDAR & TerrainCondition data
Some problems appear as heat before they appear visually.
Radiometric thermal acquisition adds a second information layer to visual inspection workflows by documenting differences in heat distribution across suitable assets.
- electrical equipment
- substations
- suitable mechanical assets
- roofs
- process areas
- energy systems
- remote facilities
Thermal anomalies indicate areas for further technical review. Elev8 does not automatically diagnose the underlying mechanical or electrical cause.
Explore ThermalField efficiency
The farther the site, the more expensive the wrong mobilization becomes.
Traditional approach
- —field crew travel
- —truck / ATV movement
- —multiple access points
- —site escorts
- —repeated visits
- —long field days
- —difficult terrain exposure
Aerial acquisition first
- +broad current context
- +standardized coverage
- +remote areas documented
- +targeted ground follow-up
- +fewer unnecessary site movements
The objective is not to remove necessary field work. It is to make that field work more targeted.
Complex RPAS
Large remote sites can make routine flight logistics the bottleneck.
Elev8 operates under an issued Transport Canada RPOC and Level 1 Complex capability. Where legally and technically appropriate, more advanced operating models may help reduce repeated pilot repositioning across long corridors or dispersed infrastructure.
- RPOC
- Issued
- Level 1 Complex
- Current
- BVLOS
- Mission dependent
- Airspace
- Site specific
- Aircraft
- Mission specific
- C2
- Mission specific
Complex operations are only recommended when they create a meaningful operational advantage. Every BVLOS mission is assessed individually.
Assess Complex FeasibilityChange over time
A single capture shows the site. Repeated capture shows what is changing.
- 01
Baseline
Capture complete
- 02
Month 1
Capture complete
- 03
Month 3
Capture complete
- 04
Month 6
Capture complete
- 05
Event
Capture complete
- earthworks
- reclamation
- construction
- road changes
- water areas
- vegetation
- site development
- industrial conditions
Repeat acquisition creates a consistent historical record that can support operations, planning and technical review. Analysis remains a human, project-specific activity unless an agreed workflow is scoped.
Beyond the site
The hardest infrastructure often starts outside the gate.
Mines and remote industrial sites frequently depend on infrastructure extending far beyond the core operating area. Elev8's corridor-focused acquisition model can support the surrounding network as well as the site itself.
- access roads
- transmission
- pipelines
- communications
- haul routes
- rail spurs
- water infrastructure
- environmental corridors
Technical integration
Acquisition that supports — not replaces — technical professionals.
Elev8
Responsible for agreed:
- RPAS operations
- mission planning
- field acquisition
- RGB
- LiDAR
- thermal
- RTK/GNSS-supported capture
- reality capture
- initial processing
- acquisition QA/QC
Project professionals
Responsible for:
- mining engineering
- geotechnical conclusions
- civil engineering
- environmental conclusions
- licensed surveying
- boundary work
- engineering design
- professional certification
Elev8 can work directly with asset owners or as a specialist acquisition subcontractor to engineering, environmental and geomatics teams.
Work With Elev8Specialized capacity
Already have a drone program? Keep the routine work internal.
Many mines and industrial organizations can economically perform routine visual capture themselves. Elev8 becomes useful when the project exceeds that internal workflow.
- BRING TO ELEV8
Remote deployment
- BRING TO ELEV8
LiDAR
- BRING TO ELEV8
Thermal
- BRING TO ELEV8
Large-area acquisition
- BRING TO ELEV8
Corridor work
- BRING TO ELEV8
Temporary capacity
- BRING TO ELEV8
Complex operations
- BRING TO ELEV8
Advanced data products
Use internal capability where it makes sense. Bring Elev8 the difficult acquisition problem.
Who we work with
Built to work across the project ecosystem.
Asset owners
Current site intelligence for defined operational requirements.
Mining engineering consultants
Specialized acquisition supporting professional technical workflows.
Environmental consultants
Terrain, imagery and repeat-condition acquisition.
Geomatics / OLS
Aerial acquisition to project-defined specifications.
Infrastructure contractors
Specialist field capability for difficult or remote projects.
Representative remote-site workflow
The aerial layer decides where ground resources are worth spending.
Illustrative workflow — not a specific client project.
- 01
Project AOI
Site boundary, assets, terrain of interest, coordinate system and outputs defined with the technical team.
- 02
Field / regulatory plan
Access, site safety, airspace review, operating model and sensor selection.
- 03
RGB / LiDAR / thermal
Only the sensors the operational question actually requires.
- 04
Point cloud / ortho / 3D
Agreed processing into georeferenced, usable spatial products.
- 05
Technical team review
The professional team assesses the data against their own requirements.
- 06
Targeted ground follow-up
Specialized ground resources concentrated where the aerial layer shows they are worth spending.
Mission fit
Strong remote-site projects usually have an expensive access problem.
Large site
Remote location
Difficult terrain
Specialized sensor requirement
Repeat mobilization
Multiple dispersed assets
Long access routes
Complex RPAS requirement
Professional team needs current data
Change over time matters
Simple local visual capture may be more economically handled internally.
Remote monitoring
High-frequency monitoring changes the business case.
If a remote site requires repeated visual or thermal acquisition, the long-term cost may be driven more by mobilization than by the flight itself.
- remote facilities
- industrial compounds
- isolated substations
- camps
- yards
- mine infrastructure
- energy facilities
- 01
Deploy
- 02
Remote capture
- 03
Review
- 04
Repeat
Autonomous operations require site-specific regulatory, aircraft, communications, infrastructure and economic feasibility.
Assess an Autonomous SiteDeliverables
Data delivered around the technical requirement.
RGB imagery
Current high-resolution visual record of the site.
Orthomosaic
Georeferenced site imagery for planning and GIS.
Point cloud
Dense 3D acquisition as scoped.
Terrain model
Ground-focused surface where returns and conditions support it.
Surface model
Visible surface and infrastructure context.
Thermal data
Radiometric capture with anomaly documentation.
3D reality capture
Measurable current-condition site models.
GIS data
SHP / GeoJSON or other agreed spatial formats.
CAD-compatible export
DXF / DWG-compatible data where required.
Hosted viewer
Shared access for distributed technical teams.
Raw data
Available where downstream professional processing requires it.
Deliverables are selected based on how the project team intends to use the information.
Clear responsibility
We capture the information. Qualified professionals make the professional decisions.
Elev8 does not independently provide:
- mining engineering
- geotechnical engineering
- slope stability analysis
- environmental certification
- cadastral surveying
- legal boundary determination
- certified electrical diagnosis
Clear responsibility makes better project teams.
Questions
Remote-site acquisition, answered directly.
Elev8 provides aerial and geospatial data acquisition. Where regulated professional surveying is required, Elev8 works with or supplies data to appropriately licensed professionals.
Underground & GPS-denied acquisition
The mine does not stop at the portal.
Surface RPAS acquisition can document pits, roads, stockpiles, facilities and terrain. Underground environments require a different spatial workflow. Elev8 supports project-specific SLAM, LiDAR and remote acquisition for GNSS-denied mine environments.
- Underground drifts
- Headings
- Ramps
- Service infrastructure
- Development capture
- 3D existing conditions
- Repeat spatial documentation
Project intake
Send us the difficult site.
Send the site boundary, KML/KMZ, corridor, technical requirement or area of concern. Elev8 will assess the acquisition method, sensing requirements and operating environment before recommending an approach.
KML · KMZ · PDF · GIS · coordinates · site plan
Field proof
Related technical work
No published project record exists in this category yet. These are real acquisitions that demonstrate the relevant capability.
PROJECT / 001 · Real project · Dataset available
New Ontario School — Reality Capture & Existing Conditions
An aerial reality-capture acquisition producing a 3D digital record of the school site.
Reality Capture · Mapping · 3D
View projectPROJECT / 002 · Real project · Dataset available
Hospital Site — Orthomosaic & 3D Existing-Conditions Capture
One acquisition produced both a top-down spatial record and a 3D visual record of the hospital site.
Reality Capture · Mapping · 3D · Orthomosaic
View project