en.Wedoany.com Reported - Photogrammetry technology can effectively improve the accuracy and efficiency of structural measurements in underground mines, reducing on-site team activity time by approximately 60%. At Ferbasa's Ipueira chromite mine in Bahia, traditional structural mapping faced severe limitations: shotcrete applied immediately after excavation as primary support prevented personnel from safely accessing the "natural" rock face; magnetite in the surrounding rock also caused magnetic interference, leading to systematic errors in geological compass readings.
Photogrammetry was introduced as an alternative to overcome accessibility and safety constraints. Operators used smartphones to capture images of the tunnel face, which were then imported into ShapeMetriX software to generate point clouds and construct digital models. In practical applications, even with limited camera resolution and shooting distances ranging from 8 to 12 meters from the tunnel face, the models maintained high resolution. The solids generated from the point clouds exhibited high clarity, providing a reliable basis for users to identify discontinuities and lithological contacts.
Application results showed that photogrammetry significantly improved the accuracy of identifying faults controlling ore body displacement. The high-precision georeferencing of structures made the location of geological contacts more predictable, enabling precise updates to short-term lithological models. Compared to traditional manual compass measurements and sketching, this technology not only reduced team activity time by approximately 60% but also decreased the subjectivity in spatial representation of discontinuities. The conclusion indicated that photogrammetry provides higher data density and safety, mitigating the statistical biases inherent in traditional methods.
According to relevant data, Ferbasa mines chromite in two mining areas in the north-central region of Bahia. The main mines include the Coitezeiro mine in Campo Formoso (BA) and the Ipueira mine in Andorinha (BA). The Coitezeiro mine has been using open-pit mining since 1961 and continues to this day; the Ipueira mine began in 1973, initially as open-pit mining before transitioning to underground operations. Most of the ore production supplies the metallurgical plant in Pojuca (BA). In 2025, the company's combined production of ferrochrome and ferrosilicon reached 301,000 tons per year, with gross production exceeding 1 million tons per year.
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