The use of drones in determining the location of underground water reservoirs using an airborne magnetometer; Case Study

The mining industry has shown more interest in using drones for routine operations. Mining development requires continuous management because it causes rapid topographic changes and environmental damage. Drones can be used to generate 3D spatial information by quickly and accurately photographing areas that are difficult or dangerous for humans to approach. These programs include three-dimensional mapping of the mine environment, ore control, bedrock discontinuity mapping, tailings stability monitoring, and determination of water reserves in order to identify the source of feeding the underground water table, as well as how to direct water to the mining area of ​​the pit. The presence of water in mines is one of the important parameters in the instability of the walls, in addition to the disturbance it causes in the mining operation. Undoubtedly, sufficient knowledge of the underground water regime around the mine and the hydraulic characteristics of the geological layers is effective in controlling the incoming underground water. To determine the amount of water in the area and to identify water reserves, different geophysical methods such as magnetometry, etc. Combining drones and magnetometric sensors allows identification operations to be performed much faster and more easily. In this study, using a drone equipped with an airborne magnetometer sensor, the state of anomalies in the area was investigated, and after adjusting the parameters, the volume of reserves and their location were determined to control the influx of groundwater after the extraction operations.