PROCEEDINGS OF TPT XXX and 11TH CONGRESS OF PERHAPI (ASSOCIATION OF INDONESIAN MINING PROFESSIONALS)

USE OF DRONES WITH LiDAR TECHNOLOGY IN PT. FREEPORT INDONESIA

UNDERGROUND MINES

Andrew Parhusip1), Benget Hutauruk2), Emil Meigy3), Ahmad Muklas Widodo4)

1) Chief Engineer Underground Construction, PT Freeport Indonesia,

2) Superintendent UG Survey, PT Freeport Indonesia
3) Underground Surveyor Engineer, PT Freeport Indonesia
4) GBC Chief Underground Surveyor Engineer, PT Freeport Indonesia

ABSTRACT

PT Freeport Indonesia has four underground mining areas in the District of Mimika, Papua,
Indonesia. Three mines, namely the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC), Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ)
and Deep Ore Zone (DOZ), use the block caving method; while the Big Gossan (BG) mine uses the
stope and fill method. The block caving method used at the DOZ, GBC, and DMLZ requires many
ore passes to transfer ores to the hauling level. The open stopes at Big Gossan require various sizes of
stopes depending on the position of the mineral to be mined. Measuring and monitoring the condition
of ore passes and stopes are two of the important keys in sustainable mine production operations.
There have been many cases where delayed repair of eroded ore pass walls have hampered production
in the panel where the ore pass is located. Conventional survey monitoring methods are often
considered as requiring a lot of processing time, producing varied data quality and having some
limitations in limited areas such as ore passes and stopes which give inaccurate results in decision
making and cause delays in mine production. This process has been improved with the use of
Autonomy drones in combination with LiDAR technology. The results of the use of drone
technology are then compared with conventional survey methods related to the implementation, the
final results of the measurements and the data collection process in the survey operation. This study
will describe in detail the use of LiDAR drone technology in underground mines for each mine, not
only to monitor infrastructure assets supporting underground mining production such as ore passes,
ventilation raises, but also measure tunnel movements, assess wet muck panel conditions and areas
that are not supported by ground support. Based on this study it can be concluded that this new
technology can improve the quality of survey data taken safely to support sustainable production
operations.

Keywords: Drone, LiDAR, Ore Pass, Stopes, Underground Mines

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1. INTRODUCTION

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI)’s mine is located in the Regency of Mimika, the Province of Papua.
PTFI is developing two new large mines, namely Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) and Grasberg Block
Cave (GBC) and optimizing two other mines that have already started production, namely Deep Ore
Zone (DOZ) and Big Gossan (BG). Three mines, including GBC, DMLZ, and DOZ are operated
using the block caving method. Meanwhile, the Big Gossan is operated using the Stopping Paste and
Fill method. These four mines are expected to continue PT Freeport Indonesia's mine production
after the production of the Grasberg open pit mine ends in 2020.

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 Review of FTFI’s Survey Method

Before the application of the drone technology, measurement of holes or mine progress was carried
out using the Cavity Monitoring System (CMS), C-ALS, MS Nova, and Zeb-Revo methods which are
also called the laser scanning method. This method has become the industrial standard in open space
measurements in underground mines and has been used and is still being used for many years.
However, the use of this technology in PTFI's underground mines has several operational constraints:

• To conduct CMS suveys, surveyors need a close distance to the object to be measured due to
the “limited” measuring range. This close distance poses risks to the work crew, such as
falling from a height, exposure to unstable rocks, and so on.
• The use of a CMS scanner at the ore pass requires multiple and spread data collection which
requires a long operation process and intensive coordination with various parties.
• Due to the CMS configuration, “shadowing” may occur in the measurement results, where
the scanning results cannot cover the entire area of the ore pass or stopes due to the geometry
of the stope and the ore pass caused by the overbreak or tight/underbreak. For the GBC mine,
the ore pass has a configuration that connects 3 different drift height levels (figure 6). This
causes another difficulty in measuring and monitoring using a CMS. This limitation leads to
inadequate measurement data output for making further decisions.

2.2 Overview of Scanning and Inspection Devices

The LiDAR Hovermap mapping system used in PTFI’s mining area is an Emesent product. This
system is then carried by a DJI Type M300 drone as shown in Figure 2. The scanner system carried
on this drone weighs about 1.8 kg and can be connected and attached to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV), a cage, or mobile equipment such as Toyota Light Vehicles (LV) which are commonly used
as the main transport in PTFI's work area. This drone and LiDAR use a special battery.

The Hovermap LiDAR Scanner consists of a 16 channel Velodyne scanner, an Inertial Measurement
Unit (IMU) and a computer system. This scanner can generate 300,000 points per second which
produces a high resolution final output. The results of this scanning process then produce a
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) which makes the Hovermap system capable of
monitoring locations in a relative and real time way. This system also allows a Virtual Ellipsoidal
Shield (VESH) condition or a 3-dimensional condition around the drone area that allows the drone to
have a virtual safe distance. This condition makes the drone move with an on-board collision-
prevention. This is the key point of the advantages of integrating this drone system into the optimal
data collection in underground mine environments. The scanning data generated from the Hovermap
is then processed and produces point cloud data in .laz format which can then be converted into
various data types for other survey needs, engineering data analysis and data collection for the next
underground mine construction. There are 2 types of drones used in PTFI’s underground mine area
with different output focuses. The drones used include:

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2.3 Underground Inspection Drone

This drone is used to get visual output in the form of videos and photos which can then be processed
further to obtain solid scanning or imaging results. This visual inspection is intended to obtain
detailed imaging results in underground mines for the purpose of inspection of underground
structures, hung-up drawpoints, confined spaces such as dewatering steel pipes and other confined
spaces that do not allow manual inspection due to the high-risk and very dangerous nature of the
work. Below is the detailed list of the devices:
• 1 ea Elios 2 (aircraft)
This is the drone used to get visual photos and videos.
• 12 ea Batteries
The number of battery used should be sufficient for multiple flights.
• 2 ea Battery chargers
These are the battery chargers for the next day.
• 1 ea Ground Control System
This is the tool used to get pick up points which will then be entered into the GIS database
central system.
• 1 ea Range Extender
This is the transmitting device taking the form of a cable to increase the remote control’s
signal transmission capacity to the drone.

Figure 1. An example of inspection data collection in a hung-up drawpoint

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PROCEEDINGS OF TPT XXX and 11TH CONGRESS OF PERHAPI (ASSOCIATION OF INDONESIAN MINING PROFESSIONALS)

2.4 Underground Mine Inspection and Survey Drones

These drones are used to get visual output in the form of videos and photos as well as LiDAR
scanning as described previously.
Below is the detailed list of the devices:

• 1 ea Emesent Hovermap (Autonomy Level 1 & 2).

The advantages of this scanner is that it has a scanning speed of 300,000 points per second as
well as the autonomy which make it capable of exploring mines without full control of the
drone's remote control.
• 1 ea DJI Matrice 210 Drone + TB50 Batteries (3x Sets)
• 1 ea DJI Matrice 300 Pro Drone + TB47S Batteries (3x Sets)
• 2 ea Battery Chargers: TB47S and TB50 Charging Hub
• 2 ea Controllers and Ground Control System

Figure 2. LiDAR drones

2.5 Use of a Surveying Drone in PTFI’s work areas.

Prior to bringing in the LiDAR scanners and drones, project briefings and discussions must be held
regularly because the drones will be used in PTFI’s four underground mine work areas. The first
discussion is about the introduction of the work area where data was planned to be taken. The points
that must be discussed for effective operations include:

• Technical Drawings of the work site are studied in detail to determine the drone's entry and
exit points. The Technical Drawings are required to assess the risks that the work can pose.
• Wind direction and speed and other potential risk assessments, such as whether the area
under review has adequate ground support or not, whether the work location has
potentially-harmful gases or not and so on. This will determine the maximum point for
survey crew or pilot position as a safe point for drone operation.

2.6 Platform used in PTFI’s survey data acquisition

In the operation of the LiDAR drone, this LiDAR scanner can be attached to the drone and can also
be used on non-drone equipment. The use of non-drone equipment is assessed based on a decision
whether the area requires drones or not.

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PROCEEDINGS OF TPT XXX and 11TH CONGRESS OF PERHAPI (ASSOCIATION OF INDONESIAN MINING PROFESSIONALS)

2.7 Use of wire slings with caged LiDAR Scanner

The caged LiDAR Scanner is used in certain conditions by lowering the LiDAR Scanner installed in
the cage into a raise. In the GBC and DMLZ mines which have many ore passes, this scanner is very
appropriate to use because it has advantages in operations. The scanner is protected by a steel cage
and is lowered slowly into the ore pass using a sling winch and then reraised. The scanner is lowered
at an optimal speed to produce an optimal scanning data quality.

Figure 3. Use of Caged LiDAR Scanner in an Ore Pass

Figure 4. Results of Scanning using the Caged LiDAR Scanner in DMLZ Ore Pass

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3. USE OF DRONES IN PTFI UNDERGROUND MINES

3.1 Use of Drones at GBC, DOZ and DMLZ

3.1.1. Inspection and data collection in Ore Pass

Inspection and data collection in ore passes are required and carried out periodically in order to know
the latest condition of the ore pass. Damaged ore pass can lead to non-optimal mining production due
to potential hang-ups or obstruction in the ore pass or the condition where the ore pass becomes larger
due to continuous erosion by production ore rocks. This can cause damages to the chute structure
which lead poor production.
The structure of ore pass at GBC that connects the extraction level or production level of ore
produced from undercut blastings or the mine deposit ore which is then taken (mucked) using remote
loaders or manual loaders and then dumped at the grizzly into the ore pass opening. This vertical
transfer system consists of two ore pass systems, namely the ore pass that connects the extraction
level at an altitude of 2830 meters above sea level (masl) with the service level at an altitude of 2810
masl. The chutepass connects the transfer system from the service level to the chute gallery level at
an altitude of 2760 masl. The integrity of this system is called interlevel system that connects more
than one level to create a sustainable production hauling system.
In the GBC interlevel system, a drone is operated with the following options:

1. The LiDAR drone maneuvers by entering through the chute opening at the haulage level
(2760/L) then ascends to scan inside the chute pass raise or enters through the grizzly at level
2830/L and then descends to scan inside the ore pass.
2. The drone enters from the access in the middle of the service level and then maneuvers by
ascending to scan the ore pass and then descending to the chute pass level and moves out
back to the service level.
3. The LiDAR scanner enters through the grizzly with the help of a winch and a steel cage as a
protection; in this case the drone is not used as a transport.

Figure 5 Drone-reviewed Ore Pass Scheme

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Figure 6 Drone Scanning Scheme on Chute Infrastructure

3.1.2. Inspection of Hung-Up Drawpoint at Extraction Level

The rocks produced by drawbell blastings at the extraction is often hung-up (at certain heights) for
various reasons, including the fragmentation resulting from the first drawbell blasting which is not
sufficient to allow the blasting products to flow properly. Hang-ups can also be caused by a condition
where the caving rocks that descend have varied geological conditions that cause the rocks to vary in
size. This can potentially cause hang-ups because the rocks are interlocking.

Various hang-up treatment methods can be used to overcome this condition, including the breaking
method using explosives or mechanical equipment such as mobile rockbreaker or water cannons. In
order to get optimal treatment results to remove the rock that causes hang-ups, surveys and scanning
need to be carried out. Given that the hang-ups are quite dangerous, the concept of scanning using a
drone will give a good alternative choice for personnel safety.

Figure 7. Results of visual inspection of the rocks hanging in the Production Drawpoint

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3.1.3. Inspection of Wet Muck Panel

Wet muck is an unsafe condition that poses one of the highest risks in the GBC underground
mine. This condition is very likely to occur because the GBC underground mine is a deposit located
right under the Grasberg open pit. With high rainfall in the Grasberg mine area and the propagation
of rocks which are getting finer, a wet muck will form and now it has happended in the GBC
underground mine. The accumulation of wet muck will require the panel to be mucked using a non-
manned zone system or remotely. Wet Muck Inspection should be done in a way where personnel do
not enter the area.

Overall operation of the drone on the GBC wet muck panel can be implemented because the drone
can fly and scan within 300-400-meter from the pilot's control position.

Figure 8. Visual Route on Drone Pilot Control System

Figure 9. Output of Wet Muck Panel Scanning using a Drone

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3.1.4. Inspection and Scanning of Red Zone Drift

Red-Zone area is a condition where the drift/tunnel is severely damaged due to seismic activities.
These seismic activities cause the tunnel to become unstable. The tunnel check protocol cannot be
implemented directly by personnel because of the tunnel instability. With these conditions, scanning
using a drone will provide a higher level of safety for mine personnel because the work can be done
without potential exposure to drift instability.

Figure 10. Survey Scanning Plan and Output for Red Zone Area

3.1.5. Inspection of Raise Condition and Ore Pass Chute Wear

Inspection of the raise condition is often carried out after a seismic event. Most of the Ore Pass is not
reinforced with ground support. Checking using the CMS method has disadvantages compared to the
drone method because personnel must position themselves close to the brow of the Ore Pass when
collecting CMS data. Figure 12 shows the DMLZ Intake Raise Lat 2 VR P16-17 SFD. Since the area
is unsafe and personnel may not enter it, the drone departs from outside the safety limit for inspection
of the damaged raise. Figure 13 shows the wear of the Ore Pass which transfers the ore from the
extraction level to the chute level. Condition of the Ore Pass, especially abrasion by the rocks, must
be monitored properly in order to make sure sustainable production.

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Figure 11. Data Collection in DMLZ Slot Raise

Figure 12. DOZ -3079 Ore Pass 16 & Ore Pass S-1 From Chute

3.2 Use of a Surveying Drone at the Big Gossan

The use of the LiDAR Scanner drone at the Stopping Big Gossan underground mine is intended to
obtain the stope volume data. This volume data is important to determine the next mine planning and
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calculation of paste fill production which will be used as filling materials for void stopes. This drone
system has advantages over the CMS system as summarized in Figure 16.

Figure 13. Flight Path Scheme on Big Gossan Stope Raise XC-53

In addition, the drone system at the Big Gossan underground mine has the following advantages:
• Faster scanning data collection; the CMS method requires a minimum of two data collections,
from the upper stope and the lower stope. With the LiDAR Scanner drone method, the
scanning is carried out once from a specified place.
• The measurement data collected by the LiDAR Scanner Drone is denser than that collected
by the CMS measurement method, as shown in Figure 16. The drone survey method has the
advantage of being able to reach certain areas compared to the CMS method which has a
limited range.
• The Drone LiDAR Scanner method is safer for Surveyors to use to collect measurement data.
The CMS data scanning method requires the surveyor team to position themselves as close as
possible to the collars or the stope brow during data collection so that there is a risk of falling
roks. Meanwhile, with the LiDAR Drone method, the Surveyor team can position themselves
at a safer distance and stand far enough from the lip of the collar or he stope brow.

Figure 14. Scanning Data Collection Process on Big Gossan Stope

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Figure 15. Output of Scanning Data Collection on the Big Gossan Stope compared to the Output of
CMS Method

3.3 Use of Surveying Drones in Other Areas

In addition to uses in production mining areas, this LiDAR Scanner Drone is also used for monitoring
Ore Pass in non-mining areas including important infrastructure areas such as the Ore Bin and
Common Infrastructure areas.

1. MLA Ore Pass

In the Ore Pass area, the LiDAR Scanner Drone method has been proven to be applicable on a 400-
meter vertical raise. This has never been implemented during a period of 15 years of operation. The
conventional method used before the LiDAR drone method was to create a mechanical and manual
scanning platform by assigning personnel to enter the Ore pass. As a comparison of data in DOZ

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MLA Ore Bin 9 & 7, Lidar Drone can reach a data range of 470 meters in the Vertical Raise
while CMS only reaches 124 meters.

Figure 16. Data Collection on a 600-Meter Ore Pass

Figure 17. The Scan Results of LiDAR Drone on a 400-Meter Ore Bin compared to the Results of
CMS Method

2. MLA Old Stope Area

This is a very challenging area where there is an unsafe tunnel that is not propped up and a long,
winding path. The LiDAR Scanner Drone method is basically able to meet expectations but
during the drone operation there is a closure of the bulkhead access in the middle area so that it
cannot reach the intended area. The video provides pretty good visuals and can clearly see the
actual tunnel and bulkhead.

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Figure 18. Condition and path in MLA Old Stope area

3. AB Tunnel Area
Activities that need to be carried out in this area are to look at the existing conditions and
calculate a more representative water discharge that can still be accommodated by waterways in
relation to the plans for additional capacity. Using a LiDAR scanner installed on the roof of a
car, we managed to map the waterways in the AB Tunnel which is approximately 7 km long.

4. Geotechnical monitoring applications

Trials have been carried out to see the existence of movement in the tunnel by taking
measurements using a LiDAR scanner drone in the same area with a length of 100 m where
measurements were taken 3 times on the same day. The Scan data is processed one by one using
the Emesent and scanning software. As a result, the scans were well synchronized with 98.6% of
the dots within +/-20 mm from each other for a scan ratio of 1 to 2, and +/- 26 mm for a scan ratio
of 1 to 3. Most of the larger differences are where scans may not have equal coverage. The
observed synchronization errors between scans were within the noise range published from the
Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR used in Hovermap (+/-30mm).

Scan 1 to Scan 3 Cloud-to-Cloud Difference Heatmap

Areas of larger difference are
where scans did not have equal
coverage (areas not completely
covered in scan 3 vs scan 1),
not due to SLAM accuracy

Areas of red and blue

are differences >
40mm
Areas of green and
orange are differences <
40mm

98.6% of points
within +-26mm

Histogram of cloud-to-cloud differences with Gaussian distribution fit

Figure 19. Scan 1 to Scan 3 Difference Heatmap

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4. FUTURE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DRONE USE IN

UNDERGROUND MINE AREAS

Various challenges or constraints faced in scanning and inspection works using drones in PTFI's
mining areas are:

4.1 Challenges/constraints:

• Low resolution (grainy) photographs. For certain cases, such as use of drones in wet muck
areas, the drone camera is not sufficient to provide adequate image quality for viewing rock
fragmentation at drawpoints which will then be used in classifying drawpoint classes. This is
due to the high level of dust in the panel and the light condition that is below the drone
camera threshold.
• Wind turbulence. In some cases it was found that a drone would have difficulty flying when
there was wind turbulence (rotating wind) so that the drone's control function was disrupted
and the battery power ran out faster.
• Heavy dripping water. The condition of the water flowing from the drift wall will be
assessed subjectively by the drone pilot before flying. If the drift wall to be reviewed has a
heavy water flow, it is feared that it will short the electrical system of the drone.
• Big data size. The output data generated from this scanning and inspection process generally
has a very large file when compared to other scanning methods. For this reason, adequate
digital storage capacity is needed, both local and cloud. Likewise, the computer for
processing the scanning data must have high specifications so that data processing will
require a shorter time and produce optimal results.

4.2 Future Opportunities for Drone Use

1. Improvement of operational system of field data collection

• Collecting scanning and inspection data in the field using a drone reduces personnel
exposure to underground mine risks.
• This drone system enhances data capture capability in confined and dangerous areas.

2. Better scanning and inspection data output compared to former methods

• Scanning results have improved compared to the CMS method and other previous
methods.
• The process is carried out systematically and can be done repeatedly so that it is
possible to do further analysis to get a better level of scanning accuracy.

3. Efficient and fast data collection

• Data acquisition is very fast compared to the previous method

4. Cost Reduction
• Significantly reduces expenses or costs because the time required for work is much
shorter

5. CONCLUSION
Monitoring and inspection of underground infrastructure areas is very important and critical for the
sustainability of PTFI's underground mining operations. This LiDAR Drone method allows the
Underground team to monitor the areas which are impossible to be accessed safely by humans. The
current method used by the Surveyor team at PTFI is the CMS method which has limitations in some
aspects. The CMS method needs a longer processing time and more preparation compared to the
LiDAR Drone method. In addition, the CMS method has limitations in data collection in certain
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areas. Most of the areas that will be monitored are also the areas which have a high risk level, such as
falling rocks and so on. Using the LiDAR drone method in the PTFI’s underground mine area gives
the advantages of a safer work procedure for workers, especially surveyors. The long term
advantages gained include cost reduction as a result of reduced working time. In addition, this
method also gives better scanning data results.

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On this occasion, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to;
• Underground Division Management for permission and review of this publication.
• The GBC Construction Team for their assistance in the implementation of this project
• Underground Survey Team for their assistance in the implementation of this project.
• Halo Robotics team for the project support and assistance during this project time being.

7. REFERENCES
Woolmer, D., Jones, E., Taylor, J., Baylis, C., and Kewe, D. (2020): Use of Drone based LiDAR
technology at Olympic Dam Mine and Initial Technical Applications, MassMin 2020.

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