Integrated SAR Interferometry and Ground Survey for

Illegal Mining Monitoring

Maowei Ji1,2, Xiaojing Li3, Yongtao Gao1, Shunchuan Wu1, Linlin Ge2
1. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China;

2. School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems, the University of New South, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;

3. School of Civil and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, the University of New South Wales, Australia

Abstract: The development and application of the concept of the “digital mine” in China is heavily
dependent upon the use of remote sensing data as well as the domestic expertise and awareness. Illegal
mining of mineral resources has been a serious long-term problem frustrating the Xishimen Iron Ore Mine
located at Wu’an County in Hebei Province, China. Such illegal activities have not only led to enormous
economic losses due to their interference with the normal operation of Xishimen Mine, but also ruined the
surrounding environment and the stability of the Mahe riverbed crossing the mining area. This paper is
based on the large amount of data accumulated over many years in situ monitoring and integrates ground
survey with Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) using ALOS/PALSAR data in
order to pinpoint to locations of such mining activities. The change of subsidence over time derived from
DInSAR has been compared with ground survey profiles. A set of comprehensive guidelines has been
proposed to bring together the strengths of the two techniques, which is more cost-effective and therefore
can be widely used to safeguard the sustainable development of iron ore and other mines not only in China
but also in other parts of the world.

_______________
L. Ge (e-mail: l.ge@unsw.edu.au)