OSM Submissions

Inspecting Mine Sites in Colorado Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Mining Coal Basin Mine deposits in Pitkin County, Colorado, began in 1895 and continued until 1908 when production ceased for many years. Mid-continent Resources began producing coking coal at the Coal Basin Mine in 1956 and continued until the mine shut down in 1991.  The State of Colorado wanted to test the utility of an unmanned aircraft system to map abandoned mine land features as well as vegetation cover on the site. In 2012, Office of Surface Mining (OSM) inspectors and the U.S.

Office of Surface Mining Benefits from National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Resources

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

OSM’s  Technical Innovation and Professional Services (TIPS) Program provides off-the-shelf scientific and engineering software, customized software training, and technical assistance to its user community, which includes States, Tribes, and other OSM offices.  Part of the technical assistance includes providing geospatial data and support to TIPS customers.  OSM is one of the smallest Bureaus in the Department of Interior with equally small resources, so TIPS has limited remote sensing personnel and limited resources and a backlog of projects and requests to be completed.&nb

Use of Terrestrial Lidar for Public Safety and Recreation Planning in New Mexico

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The State of New Mexico Abandoned Mine Lands Program used terrestrial light detection and ranging (lidar) data to support an engineering project in Silver City.  The project involved evaluating and safeguarding the Legal Tender Mine upon which the surrounding community established a system of trails.  Multiple open stopes (excavations) are scattered across the abandoned mine that is visited by local townspeople and often used by wildlife.  Considering the community’s desire to continue to utilize the aboveground area as a hiking and biking area, an engineering contract was es