Alcoa Expands Use of Drones in Mining Plants and Enhances Technology to Support Its Production

The Use of Drones at Alcoa’s Mining Plants Is Growing More and More, and With That, the Company Begins to Invest Even More in the Use of Technology to Make Production More Efficient, with Good Results in the Monitoring of Mineral Exploration

Adhering more and more to new innovative solutions within the production processes in mining, Alcoa is increasing the use of drones in its plants and beginning to verify the benefits of the technology. Thus, the company commented on Thursday (05/26) about the positive points of using the technology for monitoring production, aiming for more control over the entire mineral exploration chain of minerals. 

Alcoa Advances in the Use of Drones for Monitoring Production in Its Mining Plants and Takes Advantage of Technology Benefits in Mineral Exploration

Drones are equipment developed around the 1980s with a focus on military use, but they became popular over the decades and today have various uses ranging from industrial to entertainment. Thus, several companies have started to use this technology to expand monitoring possibilities in various sectors, but mainly within the field of mineral exploration in the national territory. 

Among the companies that adopted the use of drones in mining, Alcoa is one of the largest references in Brazil, as it continues to expand the use of technology in its production. The main mineral exploration plant of Alcoa that currently benefits from these devices is located in Juruti, in the state of Pará.

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The project to use drones at the site began in 2019 and gradually the company was able to significantly increase the use of this technology to monitor the mineral exploration chain. Alcoa stated that it initially started using them only in the bauxite production at the site, but this was just the entry point for new uses of technology in mining.

Currently, the company has expanded the use of drones, which are now part of the entire mineral production process, assisting in the daily work through the monitoring of vegetation suppression, tailing ponds, reclaimed areas, mine infrastructure, and plateau edge inspections. As a result, the company became a national reference by adopting this technology in its mineral exploration across Brazilian territory.

Digital Transformation and Technology Adoption Are the Company’s Pillars, and the Use of Drones in Production Is Just One Step Toward Innovation in Mining 

The mining company Alcoa emphasizes that the pursuit of new innovations with technology in the mining segment is the main pillar of the company’s growth today. This is because the use of drones has proven the importance of automated and digitized processes to ensure greater efficiency in production, as the company achieves more effective and long-distance monitoring of its production chain in a simpler and more practical way. 

In this way, Marco Martini, Regional Digital Manager, commented on the use of technology and the importance of drones in the company’s mining operations, stating that “The use of drones in our operations has become constant, and I believe that soon we will have more opportunities to leverage this technology, mitigating risks and increasing our productivity.”

Finally, Alcoa Brazil’s president, Otávio Carvalheira, highlighted digital transformation as a gateway to new paths in search of responsible growth and high efficiency, as well as emphasizing how drones have been important for expanding production and the company’s interest in seeking even more solutions for the future.