As mining operations face growing demands for more frequent tailings dam monitoring, many are turning to drone surveys to collect accurate, consistent data. But moving from quarterly to weekly surveys isn't simply a matter of flying more often. It requires reliable processes for collecting, processing and reporting the data.
Tailings, the fine waste materials left over from mining, are subject to different reporting requirements across Canada. While I can't speak to every regulatory environment, I've spent more than a decade as a mining engineer and have seen one clear trend: many operations are being asked to monitor and report on tailings more frequently, often without the additional staff, systems or resources needed to keep up.
How Tailings Monitoring Requirements Are Changing
Two or three years ago, most mining operations followed a predicable routine. They surveyed tailings dams every three months, completed annually reviews and regularly checked instruments that measure water pressure, called piezometers. Teams knew what needed to be done, and most sites had the resources to keep up. They scheduled the work, completed the inspection or survey, and documented the results.
Today, I’m seeing two major changes:
First, there is more to monitor. Mining operations are being asked to track more information, including tailings beach width, freeboard (the vertical distance between the water surface and the dam crest) and deformation (changes in the dam's shape or position over time). Engineers increasingly want to understand how these conditions are changing over weeks, months and years, rather than relying on a single survey.
Second, reporting is becoming more frequent. Work that used to be required every three months may now be requested monthly, biweekly, even weekly. These increased asks rarely come with extra people or a bigger budget. The same survey crew, using the same equipment, is now expected to do more work in less time.
Not every mining operation is equally equipped to handle these changes. Larger operations with a dedicated tailings team have been able to adapt faster because they have the resources. Smaller operations face a bigger challenge. Their surveyors are often responsible for several tasks, from measuring pit volumes to surveying stockpiles, leaving little time for additional tailings monitoring.
As one survey lead put it: "They want weekly surveys, but I only have Tuesdays."
The pressure comes from every direction, mine owners, insurers, and internal risk teams. No operation wants to be asked what conditions looked like six weeks ago and be unable to provide an answer.
Quarterly vs. Weekly Tailings Surveys: What's Different?
Quarterly surveys are about getting the job done. Weekly surveys are about making sure the job gets done, every single week, no matter what else is happening on site.
That’s the difference I see on mining sites. Having the equipment and skills to complete a survey is one thing. Doing it 52 times a year, while managing staff absences, turnover and seasonal shutdowns is another. When a site moves from quarterly to weekly surveys, I can usually spot where problems will arise within the first month, and it is almost never the drone.
4 Common Challenges with Weekly Drone Surveys
From what I have seen, four common problems can prevent mining operations from keeping up with the more frequent surveys.
Relying on One Person
Some sites only have one certified drone pilot who knows how to run the survey and the process the data. If this person takes vacation, gets pulled into another project or leaves the company, the work stops. Quarterly survey usually survives a two-week vacation, however a weekly survey does not. The flights get missed, and weeks can pass before anyone notices that the work hasn’t taken place.
Data Processing Depends on One Person
Completing the drone survey is only half the job. The data still needs to be processed to be properly used. At some sites, only one person knows how to turn the raw data into useful information. They have their own software settings, templates and ways to prepare the results. Similarly to my last point, if this person is not present, the work stalls. I have seen sites where data has sat for six weeks before being processed. At that point, the weekly monitoring has become little more than a collection of files and the processed data isn’t available if it’s needed.
Surveys Take Longer Than Expected
A weekly drone survey should be a predictable task, but without proper planning, a quick flight can turn into a half-day job.
Maybe the batteries weren't charged the night before, ground control points still need to be set up, or the flight plan wasn’t saved and the pilot has to fly manually. All of these “small” delays add up and ultimately these delays make the decision to postpone easier. Weekly surveys turn into biweekly surveys, then monthly surveys, until things settle down. In my experience, they rarely do.
The Data Isn’t Ready to Use
Once the data is collected, it still needs to be delivered in a way the engineers can use.
If the surveying team provides an aerial map or 3D data, but the tailings engineer needs other specific measurements, such as how much the dam crest has moved since last week or how the tailings beach width has changed, the processing to get the information there creates another delay.
The data may have been collected, but the report isn’t ready for the engineer. If this persists over time, the monitoring program loses credibility and makes it harder for teams to keep up with the reporting requirements.
4 Ways to Build a Reliable Tailings Monitoring Program
The sites that consistently complete weekly surveys aren't necessarily the ones with the best drones. I sell this equipment for a living, so it would be easy for me to say the solution is to buy a better drone or a more advanced sensor, but that's not what I've seen. The operations that make weekly monitoring work have four things in common. None are particularly exciting, but they make all the difference.
Use a Consistent Flight Plan
The flight plan is the same every time. The flight plan is saved and ready to use, with the same route, altitude, and image overlap each week. Whoever operates the drone follows the same plan and there is no need to figure out how the survey was completed last time or to make decisions about how to fly it.
Standardize Data Processing
They have a standard process for handling data. Every week, data is processed in the same way: the same software settings, templates, and export formats are used. It doesn't matter who sits down at the computer, because the output looks the same every week.
Define Reporting Requirements Before the First Flight
They know exactly what information needs to be delivered. Before the first flight, the tailings engineer and the survey team agree on exactly what the weekly package needs to include. It might identify certain maps, measurements at designated locations or changes that get flagged for review. Everyone knows that’s expected and the engineer receives information they can use without any additional work.
Assign Responsibility and a Backup
They have someone responsible for the schedule, and the backup. Weekly monitoring needs to continue, even if someone is away. Successful operations assign someone to manage the schedule and identify a backup who can step in if needed.
The Bottom Line: Reliable Monitoring Takes More Than a Drone
Weekly drone tailings monitoring is achievable, but it takes more than buying the right equipment. It requires a commitment to making the work part of regular operations.
The sites that success understand that the drone is just one part of the monitoring program. What matters is having a reliable process for collecting, processing and reporting the data, week after week.
The drone is the easy part. I tell customers that, even when they laugh because they’ve just bought the easy part from me.
The ones who understand the bigger picture are the ones still completing their surveys every Tuesday, a year later.
