Petrochemical, Mining & Aggregates Reality Capture Services
Specialized volumetric analysis, plant documentation and safety compliance for heavy industry operations.
Heavy industry is where reality capture proves its economics fastest. A single day of avoided downtime in a refinery pays for a plant-wide scan several times over. A 1% improvement in stockpile inventory accuracy at a mid-sized quarry changes the year-end reserve number by seven figures. This is why our petrochemical, mining and aggregates practice is one of our largest — and why we operate offices in Houston, Lima and São Paulo specifically to serve it.
This page covers what we deliver for refineries and process plants, open-pit mines and underground operations, and aggregate quarries. In every case the workflow is the same: capture at industrial scale, deliver on schedules that respect turnaround windows and production cycles, and produce data that HSE, engineering and finance can all use.
Petrochemical and process plants
Refineries, chemical plants and gas processing facilities live and die on turnaround schedules. Our scanning teams are trained on intrinsically safe workflows and coordinate through your permit-to-work system so capture happens without slowing operations.
- Turnaround-window LiDAR of process units
- Piping and clash detection for tie-in engineering
- Tank floor and shell inspections with volumetric calibration
- Plant-wide digital twin for operations and maintenance
- Confined-space scanning for hard-to-access inspections
- H2S-zone-certified crews with SCBA-trained operators
Mining operations — open pit and underground
Mining clients need a partner who understands both the geotechnical value of high-resolution surface data and the operational reality of a working mine. Our drone LiDAR crews fly around blast schedules, haul cycles and shift changes.
- Monthly drone LiDAR surveys for pit progression
- Slope stability monitoring with quarterly deformation reports
- Haul road condition surveys for grade and camber
- Underground SLAM-based scanning for stope documentation
- Reserve estimation to bankable-report standards
- Reclamation baseline and progress documentation
Aggregates and quarries
Quarry operators typically need three things from a survey partner: accurate monthly stockpile numbers, fast turnaround so those numbers feed month-end reporting, and a defensible reserve estimate for annual accounting. Our aggregates workflow delivers all three on a standard monthly cadence.
- Monthly drone survey of the operating face and stockpile yard
- Stockpile volumetric reports within 48 hours of flight
- Year-over-year reserve estimation within ±1.2%
- Reclamation planning support
- Environmental compliance documentation
Safety and compliance
Industrial sites are unforgiving. Our crews arrive with the certifications and PPE that regulators and site HSE teams expect. Where the site has additional requirements, we integrate into your site orientation and permit system.
- MSHA training for US mining sites
- OSHA 10 / 30 as applicable
- H2S Alive and Confined Space Entry certifications
- First Aid / CPR certified crew leads
- Intrinsically safe scanning equipment where required
- Full site-specific PPE (FRC, hard hats, gas monitors, hearing)
Explore related DCMS services and projects
Every capture project usually connects to two or three of these — click through for the details.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate are your stockpile volumes?+
Better than ±1.5% by volume for well-prepared stockpiles with clear toe lines. Year-over-year reserve accuracy is typically within ±1.2%.
Do you work in H2S environments?+
Yes. Our qualified crews carry H2S Alive certifications and SCBA training where required.
How fast can you deliver a plant scan?+
Turnaround-window scanning of an operating unit typically delivers a registered point cloud within 5 business days and a coordinated Revit model within 3–4 weeks.
Do you support MSHA and OSHA compliance?+
Yes. Our US and Latin American crews carry MSHA Part 46/48 and OSHA 30 as applicable.
Can you do underground mining scans?+
Yes. We use handheld SLAM scanners for stope, drift and adit documentation.
How do you handle intrinsically safe zones?+
We use IECEx / ATEX certified scanning equipment where the zone classification requires it, and coordinate through your site permit-to-work system.
Do you deliver bankable reserve reports?+
We provide the volumetric surveying data; the bankable report itself is signed by a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 or JORC as applicable. We work with several QPs regularly.
Which regions do you cover?+
We operate directly from Houston (petrochemical), Lima (LATAM mining) and São Paulo (Brazil mining and infra), with Montréal HQ and Toronto for Canadian coverage.
We also serve these areas
Crews mobilize daily across Greater Montréal. We regularly run petrochemical / mining / aggregates services projects in Vieux-Montréal, Downtown Montréal and out to the West Island. Same scope, local logistics — pick your neighbourhood below.
Browse other DCMS capabilities
All services are delivered by the same in-house engineering team, so scopes can be combined into a single mobilization.
LiDAR, Photogrammetry & Drone Surveying
High-precision 3D laser scanning, aerial drone surveys and photogrammetry for comprehensive site documentation.
As-Built Documentation & Reality Capture
Fast, accurate as-built surveys delivering AutoCAD plans and Revit BIM models with industry-leading turnaround times.
Digital Twins & BIM Models
Cloud-hosted digital twins and BIM coordination models (LOD 200–300) for long-term asset management.
Building & Structural Inspections
Comprehensive envelope inspections, deflection analysis and structural assessments using advanced LiDAR.
Engineering Consulting & Technical Analysis
Expert engineering analysis, technical diagnostics and MEP system documentation for retrofit and renovation.
Forensics, Condition Assessment & Remedial Planning
Technical investigations, heritage documentation and condition reports for remedial engineering.
Scope a mining, petrochemical or aggregates capture project
Tell us the site, the shutdown window and the deliverable. We will assemble a crew from the nearest of our six offices.