TL;DR: Mine rehabilitation and disturbance monitoring works at two scales. Satellites give wide, frequent and low-cost coverage, including vegetation indices. Drones give detailed, measurable and dated evidence of specific areas. Most mines combine them, and disturbance mapping is still largely drawn and checked by people. Choose tools by the evidence your regulator asks for.
Key takeaways
- Rehabilitation is increasingly scheduled. According to the Queensland Government, progressive rehabilitation and closure plans have applied to new mining applications since November 1, 2019, with time-based milestones.
- Free satellite data covers most mines often. According to the European Space Agency, the Sentinel-2 pair revisits every five days at the equator, with four bands at 10 m resolution.
- Commercial satellites go finer and faster. According to Planet, its SkySat imagery reaches 50 cm, with sub-daily tasking.
- Australian mines have a free national archive. According to Geoscience Australia, Digital Earth Australia makes decades of corrected satellite imagery freely available.
- Drones add the detail. According to the help center of Birdi (birdi.io), drone maps reach 2 to 4 cm vertical accuracy with RTK and good ground control.
What do regulators ask mines to show about disturbance and rehabilitation?
Regulators generally ask mines to show how much land is disturbed, how much has been rehabilitated, and whether rehabilitation is meeting its milestones or completion criteria. The detail varies by jurisdiction. In Queensland, a progressive rehabilitation and closure plan sets time-based milestones and maps of final outcomes, which the mine must then evidence.
So the evidence has three parts: area (how much is disturbed or rehabilitated), condition (is vegetation establishing, are landforms stable), and time (when each milestone was met). Satellites are good at area and broad condition over time. Drones are good at detailed condition, measured landforms and a dated visual record. Field surveys remain the basis for ecological criteria.
Why the record must be dated and repeatable
Rehabilitation is judged over years. A record that shows the same area, measured the same way, at each date is what lets a mine show progress to a regulator, and what lets a regulator check it. That favors repeatable methods with consistent ground control and dates. For how repeat surveys stay consistent, see our guide to organizing repeat drone surveys.
How did we choose and compare the tools?
We chose tools that mines use for rehabilitation and disturbance monitoring, and compared them on resolution and revisit, vegetation indices, disturbed area measurement, data types in one view, access for people outside the paid team, and pricing. The list is grouped, drone and survey records first, and Birdi is listed first. The order is not a ranking.
Every fact was checked on the vendor's or agency's own website on October 7, 2026. We say plainly where a tool does not map disturbance automatically or produce a compliance report, including Birdi.
The best mine rehabilitation monitoring tools in 2026
The rehabilitation monitoring tools compared here are Birdi, Sentinel-2 data, Planet, Digital Earth Australia and ArcGIS Pro. One is a drone survey record, three supply satellite imagery, and one is desktop GIS for analysis. Each entry carries the same fields, grouped by scale, checked on October 7, 2026.
Drone and survey records
1. Birdi
Best for: Mine environmental and site teams that want dated, measured imagery of rehabilitation areas, compared by date and shared with consultants and reviewers.
Typical customer size / segment: Mid-sized mining and quarry teams of roughly 30 to 500 staff.
Key strengths:
- Every survey of a site sits in one Site, filtered by capture date, with split screen to compare two dates.
- Polygons measure disturbed and rehabilitated areas, and difference grids show landform change on Growth and Ultimate.
- WMS and WMTS layers and Birdi's map library, including Digital Earth Australia land cover, sit beside the drone maps.
Disturbance mapping: Drawn and checked by a person; not automatic. Birdi does not produce compliance reports.
Access for people outside the paid team: Guests view and download without using a paid seat, and view-only links share one map.
Data types in one view: Orthomosaics, elevation models, point clouds, web map layers, PDFs and photos.
Watch-outs: Not for a GIS analyst who needs a full desktop GIS. It also does not suit anyone who wants existing aerial imagery supplied rather than captured.
Pricing: Growth is $287 USD a month, billed annually. Ultimate is priced by quote (checked October 7, 2026).
Satellite imagery
2. Sentinel-2 (Copernicus)
Best for: Free, frequent, multispectral coverage of whole mine leases and their surroundings, including vegetation indices.
Typical customer size / segment: Any mine, regulator or consultant; the data is free.
Key strengths:
- Revisit every five days at the equator with the two-satellite pair.
- Thirteen spectral bands, four at 10 m, suited to vegetation indices.
- A long archive for before-and-after comparison.
Disturbance mapping: Analysis by the user, in GIS or a data platform.
Access for people outside the paid team: Open data.
Data types in one view: Multispectral imagery.
Watch-outs: At 10 m, small rehabilitation plots and landform detail are not visible. Cloud cover can delay usable images.
Pricing: Free data; processing by you or a provider.
3. Planet
Best for: Mines that want daily or near-daily commercial imagery, and very high resolution on demand.
Typical customer size / segment: Large mining companies, governments and consultants.
Key strengths:
- PlanetScope imagery near-daily across the globe, in eight bands.
- SkySat imagery at 50 cm with sub-daily tasking.
- Analysis and monitoring services.
Disturbance mapping: Through Planet's analytics or your own GIS.
Access for people outside the paid team: Through Planet's platform and licensing.
Data types in one view: Multispectral and high-resolution imagery.
Watch-outs: Licensing costs scale with area and frequency. Even 50 cm imagery shows less detail than a low drone flight.
Pricing: Contact for pricing.
4. Digital Earth Australia
Best for: Australian mines that want free, analysis-ready satellite history and land cover for their region.
Typical customer size / segment: Any Australian mine, regulator or consultant.
Key strengths:
- Decades of corrected satellite imagery, freely available.
- Land cover and waterbody products.
- Access through DEA Maps and web services.
Disturbance mapping: Analysis by the user.
Access for people outside the paid team: Open data.
Data types in one view: Satellite imagery and derived products.
Watch-outs: Australia only, and at satellite resolution.
Pricing: Free.
Analysis
5. ArcGIS Pro
Best for: Environmental and GIS teams that combine satellite, drone and field data for rehabilitation analysis and reporting.
Typical customer size / segment: Mining companies and consultants with GIS staff.
Key strengths:
- Change detection on imagery, including classification and time series, with the Image Analyst extension.
- Combines drone, satellite and field survey data in one project.
- Full mapping and reporting for regulators.
Disturbance mapping: Classification and change tools, run and checked by a specialist.
Access for people outside the paid team: Through ArcGIS Online or exports.
Data types in one view: Any raster or vector data the team holds.
Watch-outs: It needs a trained GIS user and, for change detection, the Image Analyst extension.
Pricing: By license.
How do satellite and drone monitoring work together?
Satellites watch the whole lease and its surroundings often and cheaply, flagging where vegetation is changing or new ground has been disturbed. Drones then capture those areas in detail, with measured landforms and a dated record. Field surveys confirm ecological criteria. Together they give the regulator area, condition and time.
A practical routine
- Satellite review, monthly or quarterly: check vegetation trends and new disturbance across the lease.
- Drone survey of rehabilitation areas, at set intervals: measure areas, landforms and erosion, with the same ground control each time.
- Field survey, as the plan requires: confirm vegetation cover and species against completion criteria.
- Annual compilation: combine the record into the report the regulator asks for.
For comparing the drone surveys over time, see our list of software for comparing drone surveys.
Frequently asked questions
How is mine rehabilitation monitored?
With a mix of field surveys, satellite imagery and drone surveys. Field surveys check vegetation and soils against completion criteria. Satellites track vegetation and disturbance across the whole lease over time. Drones capture detailed, measured imagery of specific areas. The mix depends on the regulator's requirements and the site.
Can satellites measure vegetation recovery?
Yes, broadly. Multispectral satellites such as Sentinel-2 support vegetation indices that track greenness over time, at 10 m resolution. They show trends across large areas well, but not the species or cover detail field surveys provide. Use them to see where to look, then check on the ground.
How often should rehabilitation be surveyed?
As often as the rehabilitation plan and regulator require, and often enough to catch problems early. Satellite data can be reviewed monthly or more, drone surveys of active rehabilitation areas at set intervals, and field surveys as the plan's monitoring program specifies. Keep methods consistent between surveys.
What is disturbed area reporting?
It is reporting how much land a mine has disturbed, how much is being rehabilitated, and how much is rehabilitated, usually against approved limits or milestones. It is typically mapped from imagery and surveys, then compiled into the regulator's required format. The exact requirements vary by jurisdiction.
Can drones replace field vegetation surveys?
No. Drones measure area, landform and visible cover quickly and safely, but field surveys still confirm species, soils and ecological completion criteria. Drones help target field work and give a dated visual record between field surveys, which makes the overall program more efficient.
About the author
This guide was written by the Birdi team. Birdi (birdi.io) is a geospatial AI workspace that mining, quarry and construction teams use to share drone surveys, imagery and site data in one map. We checked every product fact against each vendor's or agency's own website on October 7, 2026.
Related reading
- Geospatial software for mining: the wider set of tools for mine teams.
- Comparing two drone surveys: measuring what changed between surveys.
- Geospatial mapping for remediation: mapping on demolition and remediation projects.
- Birdi for mining: how mine teams use one shared site record.
Sources
Government and agencies
- Queensland Government. "Mining rehabilitation reforms" and progressive rehabilitation and closure plan guidance. https://environment.qld.gov.au/management/policy-regulation/mining-rehab-reforms
- European Space Agency and Copernicus. "Sentinel-2 mission." SentiWiki. https://sentiwiki.copernicus.eu/web/s2-mission
- Geoscience Australia. "Digital Earth Australia." https://www.dea.ga.gov.au/
Vendor documentation (read October 7, 2026)
- Planet. "Planet imagery." https://www.planet.com/products/planet-imagery/
- Esri. ArcGIS Pro "Change Detection Wizard." https://pro.arcgis.com/
- Birdi Help Center. "How to use Sites in Birdi," "How to use Birdi's split screen view" and "How to create a difference grid in Birdi." https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/16767430
- Birdi Help Center. "How to add WMS/WMTS layers to your map" and "Deep dive: DEA land cover and waterbodies maps in the Birdi 2.0 map library." https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/10208490
- Birdi Help Center. "How accurate are my maps?" https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/13837409
- Birdi. "Pricing." https://www.birdi.io/pricing
