Russian geologists have identified seven new deposits of strategic and scarce minerals in the Far East and Siberia using drone technologies. This was announced by the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, Alexander Kozlov, at an exhibition of civil drone technologies in a Moscow electric depot, where he presented the results of the work to President Vladimir Putin.
Drones are used to search for deposits of metal ores, uranium, and rare metals. Special equipment is installed on the devices: quantum magnetometers for measuring magnetic anomalies or gamma spectrometers that read radioactive radiation. These technologies can significantly speed up geological surveys and reduce the labor intensity of field work.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, potential deposits of titanium, chromium, uranium, and manganese have already been identified with the help of drones. The new methods allow Russian geologists to quickly assess areas that were previously difficult to access or required large expenditures of time and resources.