Terra, an innovative remote sensing company specialising in the acquisition, analysis and presentation of spatial data, has the following perspectives on money, mining and mapping.
Money
Following a late December rally in 2010, there has been an early dip in the commodity market in 2011. Coming off the heels of a recession, it isn’t yet clear whether the mining sector will enjoy growth fuelled by real demand, or will contract along with a tightening money supply. As cash flow into the sector may start to decline as central banks begin to combat inflation, there will be a need to stretch the dollar farther.
What does this mean for the mining industry? Increased market volatility.
In 2011 mine operators and developers will be looking for greater innovation and higher levels of efficiency in procurement of map data to support a range of activities throughout project lifetimes. By having a high-quality ‘shovel ready’ dataset to work from, time sensitive questions can be answered with confidence, which can significantly shorten project timelines and reduce overall costs.
Mining
With a global trend of mining companies restructuring and reconstructing comes a new set of challenges facing the mining industry that have to be met. These include passing environmental impact assessments (EIAs), an example of which is the Taseko Mines’ Prosperity project. Passing EIAs, meeting stringent regulations, and adhering to rigorous reporting standards are significant obstacles to overcome before any capital profits are realised.
The mining industry is embracing new technology in a big way so it can become super-efficient with a lower environmental footprint; remote sensing is playing a key role in the current re-tooling of the mining industry.
Mapping
Terra continues to remain on the forefront of technological innovation through close relationships with scientific research groups and internal research and development. Terra brings next generation LiDAR, hyperspectral, thermal, and digital imaging, multi-beam bathymetric and shallow seismic sensors together for multi-faceted / multi-purpose datasets. These data can be integrated together to form a powerful multi-dimensional snapshot in time.
With customisable sensor combinations, detailed geospatial information ranging from geomorphological characteristics to vegetation species can be extracted and used in wide-ranging applications throughout multiple project phases.
Terra strives to deliver the greatest value to the energy, mining, utility, and environmental sectors by providing high-quality services, along with high quality data, ensuring the job is done correctly the first time. 2010 provided Terra projects in both hemispheres and seven countries. Our forecasts for 2011 indicate that dull moments are a thing of the past.