Coal India has developed plans to acquire drones to monitor land removal, measure daily coal production, mine recovery progress and a host of monitoring jobs. The project is expected to accelerate once the lockdown is over.
At present, the quantity of topsoil removed by contractors from coal seams and coal produced by each pit is measured by ground-mounted or hand-held devices. It is a time-consuming process that requires a broad movement of executives and workers. Drones can drastically reduce the time needed for such measurements by providing Coal India executives with faster access to such data , which in turn will enable faster decision-making.
The plan is to first deploy drones in 35 of the top coal-fired mines and then expand their use in all new mines scheduled to be opened by 2024 to meet the one billion-ton production target, as well as to expand some of the existing ones.
Following successful completion of pilot projects to measure the removal of top soil, coal production and land reclamation, outsourced by external agencies, the company has decided to purchase its own drones and retrofitting equipment capable of carrying out measurements.
Coal India's Consulting Branch, the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDIL) has also joined forces with the Center for Aerospace Research (CASR), Anna University of Chennai, to acquire expertise in drone technology. It ordered two drones which, once supplied with the necessary retrofit equipment, would provide the company with the necessary expertise to deploy them in the mines.
“Certain equipment for drones were scheduled to have been delivered last month but were delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown. They are now scheduled to be delivered after the lockdown,” a CMPDIL spokesperson said.
“Once these drones are successfully deployed, data captured and successfully analysed, the plan is to use more drones for similar purposes as Coal India expands its mines and opens new pits. Use of existing ground-based equipment will continue at their respective locations,” he said.
The company has also been testing drones for tracking illegal mining and pilfering coal from pits at Central Coalfields mines subsidiary in recent past.
“Drones could successfully track sources of illegal mining as well as the route followed by them to take away pilfered coal. At present services of drones are being used for survey of mining blocks for preparing mine plans as well as expansion plans,” an executive said.
