Surveying for Mining & Development

Development Surveying

User-ready data for project design and planning

Effectively and efficiently managing major infrastructure projects comes with a host of challenges. For engineers, it is crucial to obtain engineering-grade survey data that covers the entire project area, without interfering with ground activity.

PhotoSat’s Development Surveying gives engineers accurate and site-wide data, so projects can continue as planned.

Precision Orthophoto

Colour Shade with Contours

Precision Orthophoto

Colour Shade with Contours

Key applications:

Mining development and expansion
Preliminary construction projects
Renewable energy projects (e.g. wind farms)

Elevation grid formats:

File Format(s): ASCII, CSV, DWG, DXF, ECW, ERS, LAS, TIF, and XML.

Thinned Grid formats are available to reduce file size for projects over low-grade slopes.

Learn more about the technology behind our Elevation Surveying.

Technical Specifications:

Type

Bare ground surface (DEM/DTM)

Vertical Accuracy (with control)

~10 – 30 cm RMSE More Info

Satellite Specifications for Elevation Surveys

Some specifications for survey deliverables depend on the satellite used to acquire the imagery.

Satellite	Expected Vertical Accuracy	Orthophoto Ground Resolution (Pixel Size)	Orthophoto Colour	Elevation Grid Spacing (Ground Sample Distance)
WV1	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Greyscale, with colourization options available	1 m or 50 cm
WV2	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	1 m or 50 cm
WV3	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm or 30 cm	Colour	1 m, 50 cm, 30 cm, or 15 cm (resampled)
Pleiades 1A	20 – 30 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	50 cm
Pleiades 1B	20 – 30 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	50 cm
Keyhole	--	0.61 m to 1.2 m	Greyscale	0.61 m to 1.2 m

Survey Accuracy & Ground Control Information

Relative Accuracy

~20 cm over 5 km

Elevation Grid Resolution (GSD)

50 cm, 1 m, or custom

Vegetation Removal

Yes

Available from Archive Imagery

Yes

Satellites Source(s)

WV1, WV2, WV3, Pleiades 1A/1B; Pleiades Neo 1 & 2

Area of Interest

Custom

Coordinate System

Any, including custom mine grids

Download the AbraPlata Diablillos Case History

Deliverables

The Development Surveying package includes these standard deliverables.

Standard Deliverables Optional Deliverables

Precision Orthophoto

High-resolution orthorectified photo of your project area.

Resolution: as per satellite
File format(s): ERS, JPEG, KML, LAS, PDF, PNG, TIF, and XML

Contours

Available in 50 cm, 1 m, 5 m, 10 m, or custom intervals.

File format(s): DWG, DXF, KML, and SHP

Colour Shade

Detailed 3D topography of your area with high elevations in warm colours and low elevations in cool colours.

Slope Direction Image

East aspects in blue, west aspects in gold. North aspects appear bright, and south aspects appear dark.

Water Body Outlines

Digital and geolocated linework of surface water including supernatant ponds, engineered tailings cells, naturally occurring water bodies, and/or seasonal accumulation.

Line: 1 pixel