The Challenge: Timing between survey request and receiving data

At one of South Africa’s largest iron ore operations routine survey blocks were only conducted by requiring surveyors to spend excessive time travelling between the office and mining areas. Due to the scale of this mine, a large number of Ground Control Points (GCPs) were required per block with surveyors spending several hours setting these up and measuring their accuracy. Once surveys were completed, data handover and processing further extended and delayed results.

With more than 30 blocks per month and daily surface updates required, this created increased exposure around heavy machinery and crest edges, logistical delays during high-production periods, fatigue from repetitive field travel and setup, as well as exposure to dust and adverse weather conditions.

As the site survey lead explained:

“The biggest challenge was the lead time between a request and getting data to site. With mobilisation, multiple GCPs, flying, and processing, it often wasn’t aligned to production timing, especially over weekends when delays could extend by several hours.”
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Our recommendation: Automated capture of routine survey blocks
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The team at this iron ore mine needed to find a way to reduce time spent travelling and setting up, as well as decreasing the delay in data capture and turnaround.  We recommended a drone-in-a-box system which could automate these routine requirements and give the surveyors their time back to focus on more critical work.  This xBot also operates using a survey-grade RTK, reducing the need for a large number of routine Ground Control Points (GCPs) placement, while maintaining high positional accuracy. Data outputs include orthomosaics, digital terrain models(DTMs), crest lines, and volumetric surfaces, are delivered directly into the site’s production workflow.

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Results: Significantly improved turnaround time on data

The xBot has enabled this site to move from scheduled surveying to continuous, on-demand data capture aligned to production requirements.

As a surveyor on site explained:  

“The impact has been clear. We’re no longer spending time on setup and travel for every request, we’re focused onthe data and how it supports the operation. The turnaround time has improved significantly.”
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Other notable survey outcomes

• Up to 5 hours saved per survey request; directly improving production turnaround and reducing operational delays.
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• Using APIs in RocketDNA’s Sitetube platform, data can automatically be distributed across various survey platforms.
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• Daily Panoramic, up-to-date views of the entire operation
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• Enabling events such as blast monitoring to be viewed live without requiring physical presence in the pit
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• Covering more than 30 production blocks per month. Block sizes from small production areas to 6,000m² zone
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A New Operating Model

This South African xBot deployment demonstrates that automated survey is no longer experimental, it is operational, scalable,and ready for production environments.

This marks a fundamental shift from periodic surveying to continuous, production-aligned data capture.

This is not just a technology shift - it is a new operating model for mine surveying.