Mining operators and their financiers, regulators, and insurers use satellite imagery to measure stockpile volumes, monitor tailings-dam stability, track encroachment and rehabilitation, and verify production — often over remote sites with no other independent data source.
This guide covers how to plan mine-site acquisitions: optical stereo for volumetrics, InSAR for millimetre-scale ground movement, and the periodic cadence that turns single images into a monitoring programme.
Stockpile and pit volumes come from elevation, and elevation comes from stereo or tri-stereo optical acquisitions that let you build a digital surface model. Plan stereo passes with the along-track viewing geometry the sensor needs, at VHR resolution, in daylight and low cloud.
Repeat the stereo acquisition on a regular cadence to track volume change over time — the difference between successive surface models is what quantifies extraction and stockpile drawdown.
Ground deformation — the early warning of tailings-dam failure or slope instability — is measured with SAR interferometry (InSAR), which detects millimetre-scale movement between repeat radar passes from the same geometry. This has become a standard safety-monitoring tool after high-profile dam failures.
InSAR requires consistent, repeat-pass SAR acquisitions over the same area with stable geometry, so plan a fixed cadence from a SAR constellation and keep the look angle consistent between passes.
VHR optical on a periodic schedule documents site footprint, illegal encroachment, water management, and progressive rehabilitation for regulators and ESG reporting. Define the AOI as the lease boundary and plan recurring passes to build a defensible visual record.
Combine optical change detection with the InSAR deformation series for a complete site-monitoring programme — what the surface looks like, and how it is moving.
From elevation: stereo or tri-stereo optical acquisitions build a digital surface model, and differencing successive models over time quantifies volume change.
Detecting millimetre-scale ground movement between repeat SAR passes — the early-warning signal for tailings-dam failure and slope instability.
On a fixed cadence: monthly or quarterly optical for volumes and compliance, and consistent repeat-pass SAR for the InSAR deformation series.
Interferometry compares the phase of radar returns between passes, which only works when the acquisitions share a stable look angle and orbit geometry.
Draw your Area of Interest, set the window and look-angle limits, and PassPrediction ranks every feasible pass across all operators — neutrally, in your browser, free to start.
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