Pharos Data · Dams, tailings and erosion
Know when the ground starts to move.
A dam wall, a tailings facility or a cut slope rarely fails without warning. The warning is in the small changes: a new wet patch, a crack, a slump. A Pharos station flies the same lines on a schedule and shows your engineers what changed since the last flight.
The problem
Small changes are easy to miss on foot.
Walking a long dam wall or a tailings facility takes time, and some of it is not safe to walk. A new seep or a small slump looks like nothing on the day. It only means something when you can compare it with last month.
- Long walls and slopes that take days to inspect
- Areas that are not safe to walk
- Seepage and wet spots found late
- No consistent record to compare from one inspection to the next
What we offer
What the station does for you.
The same flight lines every time, so this month lines up with last month and change stands out.
Elevation compared flight to flight, so new erosion, slumps and settlement are highlighted for your engineer.
Seepage and wet areas on walls and slopes show differently in thermal and are marked with a position.
The telephoto camera records cracks and damage close up without anyone standing on the slope.
What we watch
The signs that come before failure.
Each one is recorded on the same lines, flight after flight, for your engineer.
New wet spots on walls and slopes, marked in thermal with a position.
Cracks, slumps and settlement highlighted by comparing elevation with the last flight.
Gullies and scour after rain, measured and compared.
Freeboard and pool position on tailings and dams, trended flight to flight.
How we do it
How it works on your ground.
- 01A station on siteThe same station that secures the site at night flies the surveys by day.
- 02Flown on your inspection scheduleWeekly, monthly or after heavy rain, as your engineer requires.
- 03Compared with the last flightEvery survey is processed the same way and compared with the one before.
- 04Delivered to your engineerA record your engineer of record can use in their own inspections. We support their work; we do not replace it.
Built by Pharos
Our own software, working for you.
The aircraft and station are DJI hardware. What makes them one service is software we wrote ourselves. Here is what it does for you on this kind of site.
Our media pipeline checks, sorts and processes every capture as it comes off the aircraft. Each report is built with the same method as the last one, so month on month the numbers compare.
Our evidence chain seals every clip and every flight log the moment it is captured, with the pilot, station, time and position attached. If anything were changed afterwards, it would show.
Our own software sits between the DJI hardware and everything above it. The station, your alarms, the pilots and the reports run as one system, and it is ours to maintain.
What you get
What lands with you.
- A dated survey of the wall, facility or slope
- A change map between flights
- Thermal wet spot checks with positions
- Close-up photos of anything that changed
Questions
Dams, tailings and erosion, answered.
Does this replace our engineer?
No. It gives your engineer of record a consistent, dated record to work from. The engineering judgement stays with them.
How often should it fly?
As often as your inspection plan requires, and after heavy rain. The station lives on site, so extra flights are easy.
Can it see seepage?
Wet areas often show in thermal, and we mark them for your engineer to check on the ground.
Do you also measure stockpiles?
Yes. See mining and stockpiles; both can be flown from the same station.
Book a site assessment
See what a station covers on your ground.
Outline your property on a satellite map and answer four questions, or leave your details. It costs you nothing and you are not committing to anything.