- Eramet uses it in its mining operation in Senegal
- Using imaging techniques to rehabilitate the environment
- With time and cost saving benefits
- Technology for use in insecure or hostile areas
Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming more and more important in the daily lives of people and especially companies. It is with a view to achieving better returns that some companies are using them. This is notably the case of certain mines such as Eramet, which is working to use them.
According to our colleagues at Usinedigitale, the mining and metallurgy company Eramet is using drones and AI technology provided by Capgemini to map the vegetation originally present in the mining area it operates in Senegal. This should make it easier for the company to rehabilitate the environment, which it will have to return intact to the local government at the end of its operating contract.
Eramet and Capgemini, both French companies, have been working together since 2020.
Explicitly, Capgemini sends out drones that capture images. The images collected are then processed using algorithms that combine computer vision and deep learning technologies to identify objects of interest, including trees, bushes, fields and certain types of buildings, and to accurately count and geo-locate them. This information is then transmitted in real time and provides a map of the area.
Before drones took over, dozens of people (local staff) were sent out to collect this information and sometimes had to travel into hostile areas to carry out the manual census.
According to Capgemini, despite the reduction in risks for employees, the time saved is obviously significant: “an area previously mapped in half a day is now mapped in a few minutes”. In addition, the company asserts that automating the process would contribute to an overall reduction in annual operating costs of 300,000 euros for Eramet.
As a reminder, Eramet operates a mining concession in Senegal specialising in mineralised sands such as ilmenite, zircon and rutile, through its local subsidiary Grande Côte Operations (GCO). To extract them, the company has a mobile mine that advances seven to thirteen kilometres a year and consists of a dredge and a concentration plant.
Summary by Rachid Ouedraogo
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