X-Rock Quarry Boundary Survey, Marion County, Oregon

Allied Rock LLC hired GeoDesign to assist with their due-diligence evaluation of the X-Rock Quarry located in Marion County. Our initial task was to estimate the aggregate resource volume currently permitted at the site using a combination of desktop records review, onsite reconnaissance, and computer modeling of the resource using AutoCAD Civil3D software. However, both aerial imagery and topographic data were dated compared to the degree of mining that had occurred at the site. Specifically, the most recent elevation data – a LiDAR survey conducted in 2009 – predated a significant amount of mining disturbance and resource removal by the previous operator. LiDAR data is very useful for capturing topography through vegetation in unmined areas. If only we could collect our own aerial imagery and topographic data of the recent mining…

Which we were able to do using our unmanned aerial system (UAS)! Our Trimble UX5-HP collected a fresh set of aerial imagery to create an updated orthomosaic image of the entire site and a high-resolution topographic dataset of the recent mining area. This inserted nicely into the existing LiDAR dataset to create a composite topographic model for the site. Using this, we were able to more accurately define the extents of mining and calculate the remaining resource available to Allied Rock for their planning needs.