Drones the Future of the U.S. Mining Industry?

Two years ago, when online retailing giant Amazon announced that it would begin delivering purchases via drones, a media frenzy ensued. Now, Amazon is only one of many companies using drones this way. Given the rapid rate of technological advancement, we are no longer surprised when we hear of companies using drones to save time, money, and energy costs. There seems to be some indication that the U.S. mining industry will soon jump on the drone bandwagon.

According to Tech.Co, drones are fast becoming the go-to choice for dull, dirty, or dangerous manual labor. Their use not only saves time (since drones can fly over obstacles and arrive on-site more quickly as a result) but also minimizes risk to their operators, who can control them and make assessments from the safety of a control room.

Because of the rapid rate of the expansion of drone use, the FAA has been behind the curve when it comes to developing regulations. Because of this, companies using drones to save their workers from their more dangerous tasks may soon be sent back to the drawing board as government regulations catch up with current practice.

Mining and drilling are both highly regulated industries in the U.S., but in this case it’s not an energy regulator but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that is trying to figure out how best to allow companies like BP and Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest gold mining concern, to deploy drones on US soil (The Guardian).

As we keep our eye on this developing story, we are interested to see where drone use takes the U.S. mining industry. We fully support any decision that ensures the safety and security of our hard-working mining friends, and we look forward to seeing healthy cooperation between mining officials and oversight committees.

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Image credit: "Interspect UAS B 3.1" by Bakó GáborSaját művem. Mind az eszköz készítésében részt vettem, mind a fényképet én készítettem. - Bakó Gábor. Licensed under CC0 via Commons

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