Waste management (Mining)

Prime Contractor
VIASAT GeoTechnologies (Canada)

Contact
Claire Gosselin - CGosselin@viasat-geo.com

Partners
MIR Télédétection (Canada), Department of civil, geological and mining engineering of the École Polytechnique de Montréal (Canada)

Users
Met-Chem (Canada), ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg), Barrick (Canada), IAMGold (Canada)

Main Aims / Objectives
Assess the value of EO for waste management in the mining operations.

Main Services

Support mining companies to better manage mine waste associated to open pit operations. EO derived information includes: site selection for waste disposal, waste site environmental monitoring and impact assessment (eg structural stability, structural evolution), and rehabilitation status.

This is based primarily on the use of SAR imagery and SAR interferometry (using Envisat, RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X) as well as ASTER data and high resolution multi-spectral data (Ikonos, QuickBird, WorldView-1 and GeoEye-1).

These services are being produced in 4 trials located in Peru, Canada, Guyana and Burkina Faso and validated by industrial clients. These include Barrick (largest gold operator by market capitalization, operations world wide), IAMGold (mid tier mining company, operations world wide), and ArcelorMittal (world's largest steel producer).

The implemented services are being assessed for the mining industry by the Department of civil, geological and mining engineering of the École Polytechnique de Montréal (involved in a wide range of research projects with the mining industry and specialist knowledge of the mine waste management sector).