Ecoda-Roy Hill Rail Rehabilitation
Project Overview Roy Hill iron ore mine operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia includes a rail corridor extending approximately 344 km to the coast at Port Hedland. Construction of the rail over several years necessitated some disturbance of adjacent areas in the form of borrow pits, laydowns, spoil dumps and other features. As part of the Environmental Protection Authority approval of the railway, Roy Hill is required to monitor these disturbed areas and report their rehabilitation progress to the regulator. Client Requirements In 2011, an on-ground transect-based rehabilitation and weed monitoring program was implemented for the rail, comprising 89 sampling transects. However, due to the practical challenges of field campaigns across an extensive remote area, not all rehabilitation areas contain transects. In addition, the transects may not be representative of the entire rehabilitation area. This makes it difficult to demonstrate to the regulator that rehabilitation progress complies with approval conditions. Roy Hill sought a more comprehensive and cost-effective solution that enabled them to annually monitor all their rehabilitation along the rail corridor. They also wanted to access all their data (field and remote sensing) and photos in one place and compare over time without having to sort through large, printed reports. Our Approach and Solutions Customized Data Capture – Roy Hill engaged our friends and partners at Ecoda to use remote sensing data analysis to assess vegetation within rehabilitation areas along the rail corridor. The most cost-effective approach was to upgrade the existing annual aerial capture for rail operations to 4-band data of a resolution appropriate to produce Ecoda vegetation metrics. As the trusted data partner for Ecoda, Photomapping have been proud to deliver the 4-band imagery reliably every year supporting the innovative Ecoda solution Vegetation cover and health metrics relevant to Roy Hill’s compliance requirements are produced across the entire data capture area, including all rehabilitation areas. This landscape approach ensures that a comprehensive sample of reference (analogue) data is available for comparison in rehabilitation areas. A custom metric assessing compliance with rehabilitation criteria, requiring vegetation to reach 60% of the corresponding analogue cover, is calculated and presented in Ecoda. Strategic Partnership – Photomapping have worked closely with the Ecoda team and their partners at Astron Environmental to develop a seamless workflow that allows the data we capture using our range of platforms to fit seamlessly into their analytics, allowing their customers to benefit from the innovative visualisation and analysis tools. By building a reliable and trusted partnership, our shared clients know they can trust that the analysis is using the best possible data and the most trusted analytics to support their projects Project Outcomes and Key Achievements Successful Data Acquisition – The Roy Hill rehabilitation team now has access to several years of data and analytics over their entire rail corridor. Using the Ecoda visualisation and analysis tools Roy Hill can view the progress of rehabilitation over time as map overlays and graphs. They use this information to determine which areas have achieved the completion criteria and can be included in their relinquishment requests to the regulator. They are also able to identify where additional management may be necessary to improve rehabilitation outcomes. Real Impact – Roy Hill successfully relinquished 430 hectares of rehabilitated areas using supporting data from Ecoda. Many sites did not include on-ground transects and were relinquished solely based on the remote sensing data. Without Ecoda the process to produce appropriate data across all areas under application for relinquishment would likely have included costly additional field campaign across limited areas, potentially resulting in fewer areas being approved for relinquishment and a requirement for ongoing works and monitoring. Ongoing Trust – Ecoda continues to undertake rail rehabilitation monitoring annually for Roy Hill and Photomapping continues to reliably capture and deliver accurate and high-quality data to support their use case Conclusion: Partnerships are a core component of the success of Photomapping and now being part of ISGroup, we are delighted to continue working together with a wide range of organisations that rely on high quality data to support their businesses.
Capricorn Imagery Capture Project
Project Overview The Capricorn-Wide Bay Imagery Capture Project, commissioned by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development, aimed to acquire high-resolution aerial photography across an expansive area of approximately 72,000 square kilometres along the Capricorn Coast. The project encompassed seven local government areas from Gladstone to the Sunshine Coast, presenting unique challenges due to the variability of coastal weather and the complexity of aerial photography in such regions. Client Requirements The Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development required high-quality, geospatially accurate imagery to serve as a foundational layer for various applications within government and local agencies. This included the need for seamless integration with existing geospatial data and the delivery of imagery that could withstand rigorous public and administrative scrutiny. Our Approach and Solutions Innovative Technology Deployment – Photomapping utilised the Leica DMC4 camera system during this project, which featured a four-band multi-head camera designed for high-resolution imagery capture at altitudes of up to 7,500 metres. This approach minimised air traffic control issues and allowed for extended operational windows. Comprehensive Data Processing – The data capture phase spanned approximately three months, during which our team conducted around 90 hours of flight time. A team of three in Cairns was responsible for data ingestion, error triangulation and imagery rectification. The acquired data, exceeding 100 terabytes, was then securely uploaded to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) facility in Sydney for processing. Strategic Partnership – Photomapping partnered with Hexagon to perform the mosaic generation and final product delivery. This collaboration ensured high-quality, seamless imagery products, which were delivered to the client via cloud services. Project Outcomes and Key Achievements Successful Data Acquisition – Despite facing challenges – including restricted airspace and variable weather conditions – we successfully captured imagery across six local government areas. High-Quality Deliverables – The imagery produced from the DMC4 camera system exceeded the client’s expectations, leading to further engagement for additional projects along the Cairns coast. The project not only demonstrated the capabilities of the DMC4 but also established a reliable workflow for future engagements. Enhanced Understanding and Infrastructure – The size and complexity of the project provided valuable insights into processing requirements, leading to optimised IT infrastructure and project workflows. The experience gained from this project has equipped the team to handle similar large-scale projects efficiently in the future. Conclusion: The successful execution of The Capricorn-Wide Bay Imagery Capture Project not only delivered high-resolution imagery but also positioned Photomapping as a trusted partner for future projects with the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development. The project served as an example of how utilising the latest technology, strategic partnerships and effective project management can lead to outstanding results. The Capricorn-Wide Bay Imagery Capture Project not only fulfilled the client’s immediate needs but also paved the way for ongoing collaboration and improved capabilities in aerial photography for government applications.
Tweed Shire Council LiDAR
Challenges Tweed Shire Council required new LiDAR data and concurrent imagery for Clarrie Hall Dam, the primary water supply storage for the Tweed Local Government Area. The project was driven by the impact of the 2022 major flood event, which affected water quality and sediment load, as well as the need for planning to raise the dam wall and secure water supply until at least 2065. To better understand the landscape changes caused by the floods, the council needed to identify erosion, sediment deposition, and exposed embankments. Additionally, raising the dam wall required updated data for the 5,919-hectare catchment area to support analysis such as flood and flow modelling. A key challenge was the tight deadline – LiDAR and concurrent imagery had to be captured by December quickly and accurately. High demand for these services, limited suitable weather windows, and end-of-year time constraints made this a complex and time-sensitive project. Our Solution To meet the council’s needs, we were engaged through the Spatial Services’ Remote Sensing Services and Equipment (ReSSE) Prequalification Scheme. After a competitive evaluation process, we were selected to deliver the LiDAR and imagery capture within the required timeframe. Despite the challenges, our team ensured consistent communication with both DCS Spatial Services and Tweed Shire Council throughout the capture phase. We carefully planned our data acquisition strategy to optimise available weather windows and meet the deadline. Following data capture, quality assurance (QA) was completed promptly, ensuring the final deliverables met the council’s requirements. The successful completion of this project before the end of 2022 was a major achievement, given the industry-wide demand for LiDAR and imagery services. Our delivered elevation datasets and concurrent imagery are now being used for a variety of critical applications, including: Environmental Impact Assessment – Supporting planning for the dam wall capacity increase. Flood and Water Quality Analysis – Enhancing catchment management strategies. GIS & CAD Integration – Feeding into flood modelling software and design tools. Change Detection & Temporal Analysis – Enabling Tweed Shire Council’s GIS team to compare pre- and post-flood LiDAR data, quantify topographic changes, and visualize flood impacts. Additionally, an interactive mapping tool has been developed, allowing users to observe flood damage with a “before and after” functionality. This dataset now serves as the baseline for all future dam catchment analysis, planning, and design. Looking ahead, there is potential for further analysis, including the use of near-infrared imagery for vegetation studies and additional temporal comparisons as the dam raising project progresses. Through effective project execution and collaboration, we helped Tweed Shire Council secure the critical data they needed – on time and with the accuracy required for informed decision-making.
