- SPECIAL REPORTS
- THE MAGAZINE
Recent sales of I-SiTE's 4400 combined laser scanning and digital imaging system have confirmed it as the surveying system of choice for large open pit mines.
Peabody Energy's North Antelope / Rochelle Mine in Wyoming is the largest coal mine in the world. Located in the Powder River Basin, the combined mine is the most productive coal operation in the US, having shipped 500 Mt to date. Peabody, which has purchased the first I-SiTE 4400 laser imaging system in North America, is using the I-SiTE 4400 primarily for profiling post-blast activities, and has already logged time savings since the introduction of the system on site in early December.
Curragh Queensland Mining (Wesfarmers Curragh Coal), in Queensland's Bowen Basin took delivery of its I-SiTE 4400 laser imaging system in January 2005. Curragh will use the I-SiTE 4400 to perform geological mapping, stockpile surveys and pit development surveys at end of month.
Existing I-SiTE 4400 users in Western Australia are Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and Boddington Bauxite Mine. KCGM, the largest gold producer (open cut and underground) in Australia, uses the I-SiTE 4400 for mine development surveying, geotechnical applications and stockpile volumetrics. Worlsey Alumina conducts end of month pit and stockpile surveys at its multiple pit bauxite operation.
The I-SiTE 4400, developed in Adelaide, South Australia, is the world's first combined laser scanning, survey and digital imaging instrument. The stand-out feature of the I-SiTE 4400 is its capability to simultaneously photograph an entire area measured directly in one 360-degree panoramic sweep, producing a spatially correct 3D photographic model.
The I-SiTE 4400 can be operated by any surveyor at any site, using basic techniques, and complementing traditional survey practice. The scanner sits on a conventional survey tripod, and has its own inbuilt telescope for backsighting. Setup, backsight coordinates and instrument height are stored with the scan data, so the scan is always located in the correct coordinate system.
Advanced instrument control and scan configuration are managed through a unique handheld controller tablet and software which provides an easy to navigate, touchscreen interface for all field tasks.
Because the I-SiTE 4400 collects measurements and images of everything in sight, data other than that required for the original purpose is automatically available for different applications at any time.
Source: I-SiTE, Jan. 18, 2005