Nornickel began using UAVs to create 3D mine maps. VIDEO

Norilsk Nickel In November 2025, the Oktyabrsky mine of the Polar Branch of the Company tested an industrial drone InnoSpector developed by the Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Innopolis University The main task was to study vertical ore passes and spent space of chamber workings. The use of a drone contributes to an increase in the level of security during mine work.

According to Denis Ilyin, chief surveyor of the Oktyabrsky mine, three ore passes were examined during the tests. The device performed flights both from bottom to top and from top to bottom through narrow spaces, including an L-shaped horizontal mine with a length of about 90 m. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is controlled through radio communications and can reach hard-to-reach and risky areas, even if they are out of the operator's field of view.

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Фото: Norilsk Nickel

Tests have confirmed that the device meets the requirements of the company and is capable of performing lidar shooting and video inspection of vertical workings up to 100 m long. Lidar shooting is a technology that allows a laser scanner to measure the distance to objects and build their exact 3D model.

Dmitry Devitt, head of the Center for Unmanned Aviation Systems at Innopolis University, said that specialists can study video and accurate 3D models of workings directly in the mine, while the model error does not exceed 2 cm.

Igor Zhuravlev, head of the geological exploration services support group of the Norilsk Nickel Polar Branch, noted that in the world only two companies produce similar UAVs with the SLAM system. This technology allows the drone to navigate space by building a map of the area in real time.^[1]

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