Tata Steel Mine Monitoring
How Tata Steel uses satellite intelligence to track activity levels and secure supply chains at raw material extraction sites.
Context & The Supply Chain Challenge
Securing raw material supply chains is a critical concern for heavy manufacturing industries. Tata Steel manages a complex global supply chain that relies on continuous flows of coal, iron, and other essential minerals. Disruptions at extraction sites can cause significant delays at downstream production plants.
Traditionally, monitoring activity levels at remote mining sites required on-site inspections or local aerial surveys. These methods are expensive, logistically complex, and difficult to deploy across multiple global locations.
Project Ambitions
LaGrand adapted its core image classification and thermal tracking pipeline to monitor mining operations, proving the platform's flexibility beyond manufacturing plants.
- Track extraction activity levels at open-pit mines.
- Monitor material movement and processing volumes remotely.
- Provide C-level teams with objective data to verify supply flows and mitigate logistics risks.
Tracking Extraction Activity Remotely
The platform combines multispectral satellite imagery with thermal data to monitor activity indicators at mine sites. By tracking changes in extraction pit areas and equipment heat signatures, the system estimates mine workloads and processing activity levels.
Flexible Analytics for Open-Pit Sites
The platform tracks changes in soil signatures and active machinery heat signatures, translating this data into objective estimates of mine workloads that help verify supply flows.
This remote approach allows Tata Steel to keep track of its raw material supply chain without requiring on-site surveyors, helping protect against potential bottlenecks.
"Satellite view of an open-pit iron ore mine, showing active excavators and processing areas highlighted by high-resolution activity markers and soil moisture contours."
Results & Validation
The project successfully demonstrated that satellite intelligence can be applied to open-pit mining operations:
Beyond Steel Mills
Validated that LaGrand's processing algorithms can monitor resource extraction just as effectively as manufacturing plants.
Supply Chain Security
Enabled C-level decision-makers to verify supply inflows directly from open-pit sources, protecting against production bottlenecks.
Track your raw material supply chain
From mine to mill, gain objective operational transparency and mitigate logistics risks.