Airborne and satellite surveyor SMC was transformed by black aviation investors into Southern Mapping Geospatial (SMG) in August.
The high tech surveying team use airborne Lidar, hyperspectral, satellite and GIS technology, serving state, parastatal and private clients.
SMG operates a light aircraft and airborne sensing equipment, with access to space technology.
Airborne survey, data capturing and mapping are strategic services to mining exploration and development, as well as transport infrastructure, precision agriculture, and electricity distribution.
The new venture is a partnership between Smartvest Investment and Southern Mapping Company (SMC), said Bheki Sibiya, majority shareholder and executive chairman, who is also CEO designate of the Chamber of Mines.
TRANSFORMATION AND SUPPORT
SMG uses the equipment and market niche that SMC had found since 2006, taking three SMC executives to the new board. Sibiya said there was "room for a black owned survey supplier" and "it would be counter productive to reinvent the wheel from a technology, engineering and experience point of view."
SMC CE Peter Moir explained that high demand in international markets revealed a need for "partnerships to support our business interests… and transformation".
The partners have experience on client projects in many parts of the world, explained SMG director Sipho Twala.
SMG offers training to qualified young black technologists in airborne surveying and mapping, and a tertiary bursary scheme to attract some young, talented blacks who performed well in mathematics and science, Sibiya said.
FOUR SENSING TECHNOLOGIES
Survey options typically include airborne light detection and ranging (Lidar), hyperspectral imaging, satellite imaging, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Lidar allows aerial mapping of surface features at a rate of 200 000 survey points per second, to derive 3D terrain information. A digital camera allows for the simultaneous acquisition of aerial photography of up to 5cm resolution.
For area detail, distribution agreements with satellite operators allow access to 50cm resolution satellite imagery and 5m digital elevation models of any location in the world.
Airborne hyperspectral imaging in SA is available locally only from SMG. The technology captures up to 500 images at various frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing plants, soils, minerals and pollutants to be mapped.
GIS applications are likewise used in state and business sectors.
African exploration and SA parastatals raise higher stakes in airborne survey
Airborne and satellite surveyor SMC was transformed by black aviation investors into Southern Mapping Geospatial (SMG) in August.
The high tech surveying team use airborne Lidar, hyperspectral, satellite and GIS technology, serving state, parastatal and private clients.
SMG operates a light aircraft and airborne sensing equipment, with access to space technology.
The new venture is a partnership between Smartvest Investment and Southern Mapping Company (SMC), said Bheki Sibiya, majority shareholder and executive chairman, who is also CEO designate of the Chamber of Mines.
TRANSFORMATION AND SUPPORT
SMG uses the equipment and market niche that SMC had found since 2006, taking three SMC executives to the new board. Sibiya said there was "room for a black owned survey supplier" and "it would be counter productive to reinvent the wheel from a technology, engineering and experience point of view."
SMC CE Peter Moir explained that high demand in international markets revealed a need for "partnerships to support our business interests… and transformation".
The partners have experience on client projects in many parts of the world, explained SMG director Sipho Twala.
SMG offers training to qualified young black technologists in airborne surveying and mapping, and a tertiary bursary scheme to attract some young, talented blacks who performed well in mathematics and science, Sibiya said.
FOUR SENSING TECHNOLOGIES
Survey options typically include airborne light detection and ranging (Lidar), hyperspectral imaging, satellite imaging, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Lidar allows aerial mapping of surface features at a rate of 200 000 survey points per second, to derive 3D terrain information. A digital camera allows for the simultaneous acquisition of aerial photography of up to 5cm resolution.
For area detail, distribution agreements with satellite operators allow access to 50cm resolution satellite imagery and 5m digital elevation models of any location in the world.
Airborne hyperspectral imaging in SA is available locally only from SMG. The technology captures up to 500 images at various frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing plants, soils, minerals and pollutants to be mapped. GIS applications are likewise used in state and business sectors.
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