OUTCROP MAPPING

OVERVIEW

Outcrop mapping provides crucial geological information in the exploration, evaluation, mining and monitoring phases of mineral resource development. It is also an essential part of quality and process control and geotechnical risk assessments. Traditionally, geologists visually conduct geological mapping in mines, i.e. in direct contact with the outcrop. This method is time-consuming, inefficient and subjective and can be very dangerous as recently blasted outcrops are potentially unstable and prone to rockfall. For this reason, various methods have been developed for remote mapping of mine walls, focussing on two types of data: (i) detailed three-dimensional outcrop models and (ii) two-dimensional hyperspectral images from which information on material composition can be derived. Our work merges high-resolution point clouds with hyperspectral images into hyperclouds. These datasets have significant potential for the mining industry as they allow for the integrated representation, analysis and interpretation of geometric and spectral features.