Development of a standard to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying activities at surface mining operations
Yu.V. Malakhov1,2, I.V. Semenov3, O.I. Nikitina3
1 Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
2 T.F. Gorbachev Kuzbass State Technical University, Kemerovo, Russian Federation
3 Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russian Federation
Russian Mining Industry №1/ 2026 p. 32-36
Abstract: There exists an urgent need to develop a draft national standard to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying activities, including the work carried out when designing drilling and blasting operations or when collecting digital geospatial data for surface mining operations. Development of this standard was initiated by UK Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC at the TC 269 'Mining Engineering’ technical committee for standardization. The Kemerovo State University was a co-developer of the standard. Provisions of the developed standard are based on the technological requests of mining companies, best practices of using unmanned aerial vehicles in mine surveying, as well as the current level of technologies. The draft standard has passed a public discussion, received proposals from 10 Russian institutions and organizations and from 2 related technical committees for standardization. The developers of the standard are analyzing opinions of the stakeholders and are finalizing the first draft. Implementation of the developed standard will help remove regulatory barriers to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying work in quarries, open-cut and strip mines.
Keywords: national standard, unmanned aerial vehicles, mine surveying, surface mining operations
Acknowledgements: The research was carried out as part of the ‘Geographic Information System for Digital Regional Management’ Project within the Integrated Scientific and Technical Programme of the Full Innovation Cycle entitled ‘Development and implementation of complex technologies in the areas of exploration and extraction of minerals, industrial safety, bioremediation, creation of new deep conversion products from coal raw materials while consistently reducing the environmental impact and risks to human life’ and approved by Order No. 1144-р of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 11, 2022 (Agreement No. 075-15-2022-1191).
For citation: Malakhov Yu.V., Semenov I.V., Nikitina O.I. Development of a standard to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying activities at surface mining operations. Russian Mining Industry. 2026;(1):32–36. https://doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2026-1-32-36
Article info
Received: 18.10.2025
Revised: 16.12.2025
Accepted: 12.01.2026
Information about the authors
Yury V. Malakhov – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Senior Research Associate, Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation; Associate Professor, Department of Surface Mining Technology, T.F. Gorbachev Kuzbass State Technical University, Kemerovo, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9019-4480; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Igor V. Semenov – Chief Project Manager, Department of Project Support, Center for Geodesy, Aerial Photography, and Cadastral Works at the Institute of Digital Technology, Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Oksana I. Nikitina – Deputy Director, Center for Geodesy, Aerial Photography, and Cadastral Works at the Institute of Digital Technology, Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russian Federation
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