Drones Help Discover Seven Mineral Deposits in Russia
Russia says unmanned aerial vehicles have identified seven potential mineral deposits in Siberia and the Far East, accelerating exploration and boosting estimates for uranium, manganese, chromium, and titanium.
Unmanned aerial vehicles are reshaping how Russia searches for natural resources. According to Alexander Kozlov, drones have helped identify seven potential mineral deposits across the Far East and Siberia, including sites containing titanium, chromium, uranium, and manganese.
The work is being carried out by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, which currently operates 1,626 drones. Beyond mineral exploration, the drones are used to monitor hazardous geological processes and track the fill levels of waste landfills.
Faster Surveys, Bigger Resource Estimates
In geological exploration, drones are now used to search for metallic ores, uranium, and rare metals—cutting survey timelines by three to nine months, Kozlov said. The aircraft are equipped with quantum magnetometers and gamma spectrometers capable of detecting variations in magnetic fields and measuring radioactive emissions from the ground.
Drones are also being deployed to predict dangerous geological phenomena, including landslides, sinkholes, subsidence in permafrost soils, and methane emissions. Using aerial data, specialists have already produced geological hazard maps for sensitive regions such as the Baikal Natural Territory, Greater Sochi, and the Bureya Reservoir area.
Taken together, the results point to a broader shift in how geology is done: exploration that once relied on long, labor-intensive field campaigns is increasingly moving to the air—where sensors, algorithms, and drones can spot what human surveyors might miss, faster and at scale.
