Drones in Mining Years 8 – FREE

Drones in Mining: Environmental Compliance

Mining underpins modern life – from smartphones and renewable energy to infrastructure and transport. Yet many students have a limited understanding of how the industry operates today and how technology is reshaping it.

Developed in partnership with BHP, this drone-based resource is aligned with the national curriculum for Geography, Digital Technologies and Science.

Geographical Context

Year 8 learners examine the interconnections between human activity and environmental processes. In this unit, students investigate environmental compliance in mining—how mining reshapes landscapes, how ecosystems respond, and how technology such as drones supports sustainability, monitoring, and rehabilitation. Real BHP case studies help students analyse how environmental decisions affect places at local, regional, and global scales.

Learning Intention

Students will learn to:

• Explain how mining activities alter environments and how compliance helps manage these changes.
• Recognise the essential role mined resources play in supporting modern society, technology, infrastructure, and everyday living.
• Describe how drones collect environmental data and support stewardship of land, vegetation, water, and tailings facilities.
• Interpret spatial, visual, and digital data to identify environmental change and risk.
• Apply knowledge of environmental processes to design rehabilitation and compliance strategies.
• Use algorithms and coded flight paths to simulate environmental monitoring missions.