They used one on the last season of Gold Rush

Tim,

Have not used for that purpose, personally. However,  seems like it could be a really handy idea!

Sure could cover a ton of ground.

 

Jim

Yeah, I think it would be a great way to look for out crops and how high a stream bed goes. Maybe check claim markers on the side of hills etc.

That episode of gold rush was just on the other day where they used the Drone

I want a "heavy lift" drone to fly my gear down into a couple of remote canyons that I know of that have good gold!

I use my DJI Inspire drone consistently for mining. Its an invaluable tool for prospecting. I can spot mineralization very easy. https://youtu.be/_4arp46An8M?t=23m35s The link is to my you tube page and it shows me using the drone at my mine site. Just a short segment in the show I am doing I will probably do a more in depth segment later in the summer. But I use it for different shots on the show also if you watch the start the show you will see air to ground following my suv into the mine site. Lots of things you can do with t hem. But if you are new flier i suggest joining a club to learn how to fly RC because if the GPS looses signal you better darn well know how to fly RC or you will be loosing lots of money real quick.

I know it sounds lazy and they might even have it thought of but a drone with a metal detector on it that is radio relayed back to the controller.. and mainly for the steep terrain I often find my self around.. the places you know there are not going to be any trash targets but you are dyeing to detect

Beware of any airspace in a National Park area.
It is illegal to take off or land a drone in a National park. $5000.00 fine !!!
Other rules from the friendly FAA:
1. Do not go above 400 ft ground level (AGL)
2. DO NOT operate with 3 miles of any AIRPORT/landing strip !!!!!
3. You will need a FAA Form 8710-13 Remote Pilot Certificate if you accept compensation for your services.
Personal use is okay. But, if you own a company that owns the drone and you are operating it
for the benefit of the company (which you own) the FAA can deem it a commercial use and
that requires a Remote Pilot certificate.
4. The drone must be kept in visual sight during operations.
5. Operating a drone directly above people is a severe safety violation and a big NO-NO.
6. DAYTIME use ONLY!!!
7. You can not operate a drone from a moving vehicle.
8. Drone speed must be less than 100 mph.
And some locales require a Transportation Safety Administration background check.

Check out this website: https://federalauthority.org/drone-license for more info.
Regards and POR - Press On Regardless,
Bob

Hello all, I have a smaller drone that I received for Christmas and have been working to incorporate it my prospecting tool bag. One thing I can tell you for sure is to look at different apps for flying drones. I downloaded airmap app and learned the area I want to use it requires me to contact the local airport control tower to alert them of my location. Yes there is a ton of regulations you should be aware of when flying your drone and ignorance of the law isn't going to cut it with law enforcement.

Hmmm..a drone with Lidar to locate old river beds?

I have used drones in my prospecting and mining for saving legwork while looking for sharp bends in rivers and creeks or for looking for natural traps formed by vegetation etc. They can save you a lot of steps when prospecting an area to find the most fertile spot to start at, but as one stated earlier you really need to get your certification and pay close attention to rules and regulations for where you are going to use them. AirMap is a new app that will use gps to triangulate your position and it will pull up the regulations for that area based on whether flying for recreation or certified . Good luck.

    

     You sure couldn't go wrong there!  That is a great idea.

I use a DJI Spark , I will fly ahead to check road conditions , follow a wash etc. I would suggest getting a cheap "toy" drone first to learn how to fly. Many people spend $1500 or more on a drone thinking they are going to just go fly only to never see it again.

Any suggestions on cheap drone mapping software?