TytonEI’s cutting-edge tech key to rehabilitation at one of Australia’s largest mines
In the arid and remote terrain of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert, a major rehabilitation project is underway to return one of the nation’s largest gold mines to its former native landscape.
More than 660 hectares of land across the Telfer mine site is being revitalised, in a bid to return the area to a near-natural condition, similar to before Newmont Corporation began operations nearly 50 years ago.
Telfer is still operational, with new owners Greatland Gold aiming to produce more than 370,000 ounces of gold and 13,000 tonnes of copper over the next 15 months, with further expansion planned in the future.
The growth of the open pit operations will run alongside the ongoing progressive rehabilitation program, which was developed by the former owners in 2017, with assistance from Perth-based company Tyton EI.
Tyton EI leveraged existing aerial data of the landscape surrounding Telfer to produce an in-depth analysis, using the company’s dedicated machine learning model, TytonAI.
“This type of scenario is where our TytonAI model thrives, providing a clear, quantitative assessment of rehabilitation performance across the entire Telfer mine,” Founder and CEO Dr Cam Mounsey explains.
“Our model is safer and more accurate than historical on-ground monitoring methods and has been designed to help major miners dig into the finer details of the landscape they are rehabilitating.
“From identifying the location of the smallest species of native plants and vegetation, to detecting weeds requiring intervention and prevention, TytonAI provides a level of accuracy which cannot be achieved by people alone.
“The program also eliminates any observer or sampling errors, allowing environmental managers to make data-driven decisions about their rehabilitation program.”
Cam says the accuracy of the data and insights provided by TytonAI is vital for mining companies as it determines where rehabilitation areas have been unsuccessful and require further attention.
“We can get a clear understanding of the developmental trajectory of vegetation across the rehabilitation site, while also measuring and tracking erosion risks through time, helping sites like Telfer adjust their programs as needed,” Cam says.
“From the miners’ perspective, the accuracy of TytonAI ensures recovery activities can be performed correctly, helping companies maintain an efficient rehabilitation program.”
The environment team at Telfer wanted to adopt an integrated method to increase efficiencies, reduce error, obtain more accurate data, and identify trends and trajectories to better inform the rehabilitation program.
According to Newmont Environment Manager Brad Stokes, using the TytonAI tool to put data at the team’s fingertips, understand what was happening with rehab areas, then build a feedback loop at landscape level was very useful.
“This tool gave us the power to focus investment on our on-ground monitoring and rehabilitation activity, based on accurate and comprehensive data,” Brad explains.
“It also empowered our stakeholder engagement by clearly showing how we meet completion criteria with a couple of clicks – a vast improvement over static, lengthy, and isolated reports.”
Learn more about Tyton EI’s role in the Telfer rehabilitation program here.
