Flybi / Services / AeroMagnetic Intelligence

Product 01 · AeroMagnetic Intelligence

See through the ground, without drilling it.

Drone-borne aeromagnetic surveys for mineral exploration, geological mapping, and structural interpretation — delivered with sub-nT magnetic resolution, at a fraction of the cost and timeline of fixed-wing alternatives.

AeroMagnetic survey — animated flight grid over mineralised subsurface

The problem

Exploration spend is disproportionately concentrated on the wrong holes.

Early-stage exploration decisions — where to drill, how deep, in what orientation — are still made, in many operations, on the basis of surface mapping and legacy regional geophysics. The result is predictable: high-cost drilling campaigns with low hit-rates, and structural surprises that emerge only after tens of crores have already been spent.

Satellite-derived and fixed-wing aeromagnetic products are too coarse to de-risk a specific block. Ground magnetic surveys are too slow to cover one. There’s a gap between "regional context" and "drill-ready targets" — and drone magnetometry is what fills it.

The Flybi solution

Engineering-grade magnetic data, production-quality interpretation.

We fly drone-mounted cesium-vapour or fluxgate magnetometers at 30–60 metre terrain-following altitudes over blocks from 1 km² to a few hundred km², process the data through a hardened geophysical pipeline, and deliver a ranked drill-target memo — not a data dump.

Capture

Terrain-following, low-altitude

Pre-planned flight lines with automated terrain-following. Line spacing tuned to target type and depth. Ground-based base-station for diurnal correction on every mission.

Process

Hardened geophysical pipeline

IGRF removal, diurnal correction, heading-error compensation, tie-line levelling, micro-levelling. Every step is versioned, reproducible, and metadata-stamped.

Interpret

Geologist-signed outputs

Reduced-to-Pole, Analytic Signal, First Vertical Derivative, Euler depth-to-basement. Structural lineaments digitized. Drill targets ranked with confidence scores.

Under the hood

The technical spec, simplified.

Sensor

Cesium-vapour / Fluxgate magnetometers

  • Sub-nT total-field sensitivity
  • 1,000 Hz sampling rate
  • Compensated for platform magnetic signature
  • Synchronized to drone RTK GNSS

Platform

Type-certified drone carriers

  • Terrain-following LiDAR / radar altimeter
  • 30–60m AGL flight altitude
  • 25–100m line spacing per target class
  • DGCA / regulated-airspace compliant

Processing

Geophysical pipeline

  • IGRF removal & diurnal correction
  • Heading-error & lag compensation
  • Tie-line levelling + micro-levelling
  • Grid at 1/4 to 1/5 of line spacing

Interpretation

Decision-grade derivatives

  • TMI, RTP, Analytic Signal, 1VD
  • Tilt derivative & horizontal gradient
  • Euler deconvolution (depth solutions)
  • Structural interpretation & target ranking

Deliverables

What lands in your shared drive.

/01

Gridded data

TMI, RTP, Analytic Signal, 1VD, Tilt derivative — delivered as GeoTIFFs + Oasis montaj grids.

/02

Interpretation maps

Structural lineaments, magnetic domains, inferred geology — as georeferenced PDFs and shapefiles.

/03

Depth solutions

Euler depth-to-source solutions, with confidence radii. Depth-to-basement model as a contour grid.

/04

Drill target memo

Ranked targets with UTM coordinates, inferred geometry, recommended drill hole plan, rationale, and confidence score.

/05

Raw & QC data

Line-data CSV, base-station records, corrections log, processing report. Full audit trail for peer review or QP sign-off.

/06

API / GIS feed

Direct hand-off into your internal GIS — ArcGIS, QGIS, Leapfrog — via vector tile or WMS endpoint on request.

Commercial impact

The exploration-economics case.

~1/5cost
Drone vs fixed-wing, comparable block
10×speed
Days on a block vs ground survey months
2×+resolution
Shallower flying = sharper anomalies

Typical outcome: a block that would have taken six weeks of ground magnetic survey (or been priced out of a fixed-wing campaign entirely) is delivered end-to-end in three to four weeks — with data sharp enough to drill on, not just to orient the next survey.

Flybi vs alternatives

Why an exploration manager picks Flybi.

Flybi delivers

  • A ranked drill-target memo, not raw grids
  • Data reconciled against known ground truth (borehole, outcrop, QP review) before sign-off
  • Reproducible pipeline with full audit trail — defensible in QP / JORC reviews
  • Single point of ownership from flight plan to interpretation
  • Ability to re-fly at sub-nT resolution as targets mature

Most alternatives ship

  • A geophysical dataset and a separate interpretation bill
  • Legacy data and "best effort" corrections — no ground truth
  • Black-box processing with no reproducibility
  • Fragmented handoffs across survey, processing, interpretation vendors
  • Resolution ceilings set by fixed-wing altitude

Answers

Common questions on aeromagnetic deployments.

What block size is ideal for drone aeromag?
1 km² to around 300 km². Smaller blocks benefit enormously from drone resolution; blocks beyond ~300 km² tip into fixed-wing economics. Flybi can also hybrid-deploy — drone for high-priority sub-blocks inside a larger fixed-wing survey area.
How deep do anomalies resolve?
Depth of investigation is a function of target magnetic susceptibility, geometry, and line spacing. As a working rule, drone magnetic surveys resolve targets from surface to 500–800 m depending on these factors. Deeper targets are flagged with Euler depth solutions and confidence bounds.
Can you operate in restricted or sensitive airspace?
Yes. Flybi holds DGCA-compliant operator authorizations in India, operates under regulator-specific frameworks in partner geographies (Uganda, others), and follows operation-specific permissions for restricted blocks. We handle the paperwork as part of the engagement.
Do you provide interpretation or only data?
We do both, and we recommend taking both. Drone magnetic data without a geologist who understands the pipeline is a decorative poster. Flybi’s standard engagement includes geologist-signed structural interpretation and a ranked drill-target memo.
Can Flybi combine aeromagnetic with other sensors?
Yes — radiometrics, electromagnetic (EM), hyperspectral, and LiDAR topography can be co-acquired or flown as follow-on campaigns on the same block. Multi-sensor co-interpretation is a standard deliverable for serious exploration campaigns.

Scope your block

Send us the block. We’ll send back a plan.

Tell us about the geology, the target type, and the timelines. Within 48 hours you’ll have a scoped survey plan — line spacing, sensor selection, mobilization schedule, and a commercial envelope.

Scope a Block Request Sample Report
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