Portugal’s mining strategy may favour copper over lithium
Portugal already has the largest copper mine in the European Union, operated by Lundin Mining.
Leica Geosystems, the world’s leading manufacturer of airborne mapping solutions, together with SwissDrones, a Swiss-based engineering company for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), have agreed to collaborate on creating a UAV-based platform for photogrammetric mapping applications.
“In recent years, interest in UAV-based mapping solutions has increased considerably”, says Ruedi Wagner, VP of Imaging at Leica Geosystems Geospatial Solutions Division. “We recognize that there is already a variety of different approaches, aircraft and payloads available in the market and as the market continues to develop, so does the expectation from our customers for the highest accuracy and image quality. Integrating a multispectral metric camera such as the Leica RCD30 with a suitable UAV and workflow is, in our view, highly likely to deliver what our customers expect, be that in the areas of traditional mapping or in other applications, such as mining and monitoring.”
SwissDrones, a recently founded engineering company in the Rhine Valley, Switzerland, brings together a range of experts with longstanding expertise in designing, developing and operating unmanned aerial vehicles in a variety of applications around the world.
“We have operated and designed UAVs for mapping and many other applications such as crop spraying, movie making and the monitoring of gas pipelines and power lines,” says Daniel Kraettli, Managing Director of SwissDrones. “We are excited to collaborate with Leica Geosystems to deliver a high-end UAV mapping solution to the global market.”
Mr Wagner states, “Our approach has always been to understand the market and be at the forefront of understanding this technology. We take safety very seriously, particularly in the mining environment and this has been a major consideration when working with SwissDrones in the design of this UAV.”
The Leica Geosystems prototype UAV for Mining applications will be showcased at MINExpo in Las Vegas from 24 to 26 September this year at the Leica Geosystems Mining booth, Central Hall 2, Booth 5633.
