How to plan helicopter access to a remote mining site

Exploration and remote mining sites are reached by tracks that are seasonal, slow or unsafe, and every hour a geologist, drill crew or maintenance technician spends travelling is an hour not worked.

Once a site moves to continuous operation, crew change becomes the dominant logistics cost — and its unit of measurement is cost per person moved, not the hourly charter rate.

• The road journey consumes a shift or more in each direction, or is closed for part of the year.
• Crew rotations are frequent enough that travel time dominates the labour cost.
• Drill moves, sling loads or camp resupply cannot wait for ground access.
• A breakdown is stopping production and the part or technician cannot arrive by road in time.
• Where an airstrip exists and a fixed-wing can serve it, fixed-wing plus ground transfer is often cheaper — count both legs before deciding.

• Site coordinates, elevation and the nearest base, airstrip or town.
• Landing point status: prepared pad, graded area, unprepared ground, or hoist-only.
• People per rotation with real dressed weights, plus cargo weight and dimensions.
• Rotation count per day and across the operating period, and whether the aircraft stays on site.
• Fuel availability on site, or where refuelling would take place.
• Camp and induction requirements for crew, and whether accommodation is available if the aircraft overnights.
• Medevac or standby expectations for the operating period, if any.

• Altitude and temperature reduce payload; a rotation plan built on maximum seats often does not survive a hot afternoon.
• Usable daylight caps the number of rotations more often than the aircraft does.
• Unprepared ground usually requires a survey, and sometimes preparation work, before an operator will use it.
• Dust, wet-season ground conditions and visibility close remote sites regularly; contingency rotations belong in the plan.
• Positioned or standby aircraft are contract arrangements planned in advance, not ad-hoc charters.

• Coordinates, elevation and nearest base.
• Landing point status and who controls it.
• People and cargo per rotation, with real weights.
• Rotations per day and across the period.
• Fuel plan and refuelling point.
• Camp, induction and overnight arrangements.
• Medevac or standby expectations.

• Remote project helicopter charter
• Crew mobilisation calculator
• Remote & offshore readiness checker