Drones used for NT mines remediation

The inspection of legacy mine sites in the Northern Territory is now being carried out by drone technology.

Drones are able to reach areas in mine sites that cannot be accessed by people, and are therefore being used to produce digital terrain models.

“The drone has recently been used in the Tennant Creek area to inspect the legacy mine sites Warrego, Orlando, Nobles Nob and former Peko mine after recent heavy rains,” said Ken Vowles, Minister for Primary Industry and Resources.

“Images and data from the drone can be used to help plan the next stages of work to help mitigate risk from legacy mine sites.”

The estimated value of contracts around Tennant Creek over the next three years is between $3 million and $5 million and legacy mine remediation will play a large role in this.

“We recently announced an increased minimum weighting of local content of 30% in all government quotes and tenders; however, the Legacy Mine Unit already uses 40% local content weighting for assessing tenders,” said Vowles.

“This is to ensure local businesses have a greater chance of winning the work, therefore supporting local jobs growth in the Territory.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/D.SERIN

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