In early March, the UNEXMIN Georobotics team carried out a preliminary field survey at a fluorite mine in Gehren, Ilmenau, Germany. The mine was the largest fluorite-barite deposit in Germany and is currently in the reopening phase. To ensure that the dewatering process is successful, the mine approached our company to map the underwater passages with the UX1-Neo robot.
One of the first steps is to find out if UX1-Neo can get down into the mine and if the entrance is open.
During the work, we used the Deep Trekker ROV to dive the shaft, where unfortunately, we found a blockage at a depth of 17 m, so it is not possible to use the UX1-Neo robot until it is removed.
Regardless of the results, the mission was a success, as we provided extremely valuable information for the mine: in just a few hours of work, we were able to identify the next steps in the dewatering process and where and what intervention is needed to reopen the mine successfully.
Our visit to Germany was also particularly useful for UNEXMIN Georobotics:
It is clear that even with our simplest robot, we can do a remarkably useful job, and our underwater robots have an essential function in the complex process of reopening flooded mines.
We hope to return to the mines with one of our UX series robots soon and discover the hidden treasures in the flooded tunnels.