Monitoring Volumetric Changes in Mining Waste-Dumps Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Imagery, In-Situ GNSS Data, and SfM UAV Data Fusion

Accurate volumetric estimation of mining waste-dumps is crucial for cost management and environmental monitoring. In this study of an active marble quarry, we evaluated the accuracy and reliability of digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from two very high-resolution (VHR) satellites – Pléiades Neo (PleN) tri-stereo and WorldView-2 (WV2) – compared to a reliable high-precision UAV-based model. Recording for the three DEMs was performed by extracting 30 secondary ground control points that were easily recognizable in the different DEMs. Evaluation involved the selection of stable control plots, where no surface changes were apparent in visual inspection. For these control areas, we evaluated the altimetric differences of the satellite-derived DEMs compared to the UAV DEM, finding that PleN and WV2 yielded mean vertical offsets of –11.7 cm and –18.6 cm (root mean square errors of 24.8 cm and 20.7 cm), respectively. Our findings underscore the potential of VHR satellite imagery for the evaluation of mining waste volumes and provide guidelines for optimal georeferencing and recording of periodically generated DEMs using UAV-derived DEMs obtained at specific points in time.