3D Laser Scanning in Mining: Unlocking Profitability & ROI (2025 Guide)

TL;DR: The Executive Guide to Mining ROI

• The Profit Pivot: In 2025, reality capture is not just about maps; it’s about margins. Precise spatial data reduces All-In Sustaining Costs (AISC) by optimizing recovery and minimizing waste handling.
• The Mobile Advantage: Mobile LiDAR (SLAM) allows for rapid drift mapping and convergence checks without stopping production. Speed equals data; data equals faster decisions.
• The Precision Standard: Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is the only way to track millimeter-level wear in crushers and mills. Predictive maintenance prevents unplanned shutdowns that cost $100k/hour.
• The Gold Standard: For high-value commodities like gold, controlling dilution in stopes and tracking inventory on leach pads are the two biggest levers for profitability.
• The iScano Edge: We are geospatial specialists. We partner with mining majors to integrate high-fidelity mining technology into your daily workflow, turning raw data into operational intelligence.

The Data-Driven Mine: Reality Capture as a Profit Lever

In the modern mining industry, the difference between a profitable quarter and a breakeven one often comes down to efficiency. With ore grades declining and AISC rising, top-tier operators are looking for any advantage to optimize the mining value chain.

For years, surveying was seen as a cost center; a necessary compliance task. Today, 3D laser scanning in mining has transformed into a profit generator. It provides the “Digital Truth” required to answer critical financial questions: Are we mining ore or waste? Is our mill liner about to fail? Is our inventory reporting accurate?

By deploying a strategic mix of Mobile Scanning (for speed) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (for precision), mines can unlock significant ROI. At iScano, we specialize in the geospatial sector, helping operators bridge the gap between physical operations and digital profitability.

1. Underground Mining: Speed, Data, and Decisions

In underground mining, time is the most expensive commodity. Traditional surveying; setting up tripods at every turn; is slow and disrupts the haulage cycle.

The Mobile LiDAR (SLAM) Revolution

Mobile scanning using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology is a game-changer for operational efficiency.

• Rapid Data Collection: A surveyor can walk or drive a light vehicle through kilometers of drifts, ramps, and declines in a single shift. This captures the entire environment, walls, backs, and floor, in motion.
• Convergence Monitoring: By frequently scanning active headings with mobile units, geotechnical engineers can detect “squeeze” or ground movement early. This prevents rehabilitation downtime and keeps the heading open for production.
• Ventilation Optimization: Accurate 3D maps allow for precise friction factor calculations. optimizing fan usage can save millions in energy costs annually.

The ROI: Reducing the survey cycle time by 50% means the face is released back to production faster. In a high-grade gold mine, that extra hour of production per shift adds up to significant revenue.

2. Stope Optimization: The War on Dilution

For narrow-vein gold mines, dilution is the silent killer of profitability. Every ton of waste rock you blast, haul, hoist, and process costs the same as a ton of ore but generates zero revenue.

Precision Scanning for Grade Control

While drones have their place, robust stope scanning (CMS) is critical for understanding exactly what happened after the blast.

• Overbreak Analysis: By comparing the post-blast scan (actual) against the block model (planned), we generate a heat map of dilution.
• Drill & Blast Feedback: This data is fed back to the engineering team to adjust the drill pattern for the next ring.
• The Financial Impact: Reducing dilution by just 5% increases the head grade entering the mill. For a mine producing 200,000 oz/year, this efficiency gain is worth millions in pure profit.

iScano Expertise: We help technical services teams integrate these scanning processes into their daily workflow, ensuring that “lessons learned” from one stope are applied to the next immediately.

3. Plant & Mill Maintenance: Predictive Uptime

The processing plant is the heartbeat of the mine. An unplanned shutdown of the SAG mill or a failure in the crusher circuit can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour in lost production.

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) for Asset Health

This is where Terrestrial Laser Scanning shines. Its millimeter-level accuracy is essential for monitoring high-value fixed assets.

• Mill Liner Wear Analysis: We scan the interior of the mill during short maintenance windows. By comparing the scan to the original “as-built,” we create a wear map that predicts exactly how many weeks of life are left in the liners.
  • Benefit: You replace liners only when necessary, maximizing their lifespan and reducing CAPEX spend on spares.
• Chute & Crusher Profiling: Tracking wear patterns in high-impact zones allows for planned maintenance rather than emergency repairs.
• Retrofit Certainty: When installing new pumps or piping in a crowded plant, a 3D laser scan ensures the new components fit perfectly, eliminating “field-fit” welding costs and installation delays.

4. Stockpile Inventory: The Financial Baseline

For open-pit operations, the Run of Mine (ROM) pad and product stockpiles represent cash sitting on the ground. Accurate inventory is a financial requirement.

Audit-Proof Volumetrics

Traditional “truck count” estimations are notoriously inaccurate (often off by ±15%).

• The Solution: Regular Terrestrial or Mobile scanning of stockpiles provides a watertight 3D volume calculation with ±1% accuracy.
• The Value: This precise data aligns the mill reconciliation (what was processed) with the mine production (what was mined). It eliminates the “mystery tonnes” that plague monthly reports and satisfies external auditors.

5. Digital Twins: The Future of Mine Planning

The ultimate goal for mining operations in 2025 is the Digital Twin; a living, breathing virtual replica of the mine.

Simulation & Optimization

By integrating scan data from underground drifts, open pits, and processing plants into a single coordinate system, mines can run advanced simulations.

• Haulage Simulation: Verify that new, larger autonomous trucks will fit through existing underground declines by running a “clash detection” simulation in the digital model.
• Ventilation Modeling: Use the exact as-built geometry of the mine to model airflow and heat, optimizing energy usage.

iScano’s Role: We act as the data pipeline. We capture the physical reality and format it for your digital twin models, ensuring your simulations are based on ground truth, not theoretical designs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion: The Geospatial Advantage

In the race for profitability, 3D laser scanning is the competitive advantage that separates top-tier operators from the rest. It turns the physical mine into a digital asset that can be measured, analyzed, and optimized.

At iScano, we are geospatial experts first. We understand the unique challenges of the mining sector and deploy the right mix of Mobile and Terrestrial technology to deliver actionable data.

Unlock the hidden value in your mine.

Contact iScano’s Geospatial Team https://iscano.com/contact-us/ to discuss how reality capture can improve your site’s profitability.

References

1. Maptek. (2025). Laser Scanning for Open Pit & Underground.
2. Stockpile Reports. (2021). Stockpile Reports Breaks Through Laser Tech Limitations.
3. Endeavour Mining. (2024). Sustainability & Safety Reports.
4. CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining). (2024). Best Practices in Dilution Control.
5. GIM International. (n.d.). Automated mobile system for mapping mine shafts.