How do you use drones and robots to make underground mining less risky for workers? Virginia Tech researcher Richard Bishop and his West Virginia University collaborators are working to answer this question. A recent two-year, $569,149 Alpha Foundation grant will allow the team to study ways to use autonomous drones to predict and prevent roof collapses underground. It’s urgent work.…
Read MoreHow do you use drones and robots to make underground mining less risky for workers? Virginia Tech researcher Richard Bishop and his West Virginia University collaborators are working to answer this question. A recent two-year, $569,149 Alpha Foundation grant will allow the team to study ways to use autonomous drones to predict and prevent roof collapses underground. It’s urgent work.…
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Drones are becoming an increasingly common sight above mines around the world. North American Mining interviewed Jonathan Baucom of Vistra Corp., who has extensive experience planning and implementing mining drone operations. We also profile a number of drone solutions suppliers. by Jonathan Rowland Jonathan Baucom is a 15-year veteran of the U.S. mining industry. After studying mining and minerals engineering…
Read MoreRenewed attention to gold mining at both new and historical sites in Virginia prompted the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine at Virginia Tech to convene a study about the potential impacts of gold mining, chaired by William Hopkins, Virginia Tech professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. Hopkins,…
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