Digital Innovation

The SkyGeo Partnership

In a strategic move to integrate emerging technologies with world-class engineering, Khutsmo has partnered with SkyGeo. This collaboration enhances our service offering by combining Khutsmo’s deep mining expertise with SkyGeo’s advanced satellite deformation analytics.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)

Early Warning Through InSAR Technology

This partnership introduces satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to our toolkit. This geodetic estimation technique measures millimetre-scale displacements across the Earth’s surface, regardless of weather conditions or time of day.

By stacking multiple Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and utilising proprietary algorithms (PSI and SBAS), we provide:

Millimetre Precision: Detecting even the slightest displacements to predict potential failures before they occur.

Wide-Area Surveillance: Continuous monitoring of vast landscapes, including open pits, waste rock
dumps, and infrastructure corridors.

Proactive Risk Alerts: An Early Warning Service (EWS) that triggers notifications when displacement rates surpass site-specific thresholds (Low Risk to Critical).

Engineering Expertise Meets Data Science

Unlike standalone data providers, Khutsmo and SkyGeo embed satellite monitoring directly into geotechnical workflows. This ensures that raw data is always interpreted, validated, and applied through sound engineering judgment.

Supports critical mining operations

Core Applications

The combined capability of Khutsmo and SkyGeo supports critical mining operations, including:

Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) Monitoring: Ensuring the long-term stability of tailings through continuous deformation analysis.

Open-Pit Slope Stability: Identifying emerging “hotspots” and unknown risk zones across the entire mining footprint.

Underground Subsidence: Assessing surface deformation and structural impacts with high temporal frequency.

Infrastructure Integrity: Monitoring haul roads, rail lines, and pipelines for settlement or movement.

The Advantage of Integrated Monitoring

Satellite analytics enhance, rather than replace, traditional ground-based instrumentation. By providing visibility across the entire mining footprint, Khutsmo identifies trends and risks that ground-based sensors might miss. This data-driven model improves safety, secures operational continuity, and provides mine management with a holistic view of geotechnical health.