A Ghanaian geologist and drone technology proponent is looking to share his knowledge and experience with his fellow peers in the West African country.
Delali Dagodzo, the first licensed drone pilot in Ghana and co-founder of drone services proprietorship Skyway UAS, recently delivered a landmark training program for the Minerals Commission of Ghana, where he equipped fifteen geoscience professionals with the skills on how drone technology can help their everyday operations.
Specifically, this cohort was trained to operate the Skyfront Perimeter 8 long-endurance drone integrated with the Geometrics MagArrow II aeromagnetic sensor system for mineral deposit detection.
“Training the Minerals Commission team on the Skyfront Perimeter 8 and MagArrow II was a defining moment — not just for my career, but for mineral exploration in Ghana,” Dagodzo said.
“We are putting world-class airborne geophysical survey capability directly into the hands of Ghanaian geoscientists, including women who are breaking new ground in this field. This is what technology transfer looks like in practice.”
Conducted at Afienya Airstrip in the greater Accra region, Dagodzo reckons the training marks a significant milestone in the adoption of UAV-based geophysical survey technology across West Africa — bringing world-class airborne magnetic surveying capability directly into the hands of Ghanaian geoscientists.
The drone of choice for the training – the Skyfront Perimeter 8 – is regarded as one of the world’s longest-flying multi-rotor UAV platforms, purpose-built for heavy-duty professional applications.
Integrated with the Geometrics MagArrow II — a high-sensitivity, helicopter-grade aeromagnetic sensor system — the combined platform enables precise airborne magnetic surveys for mineral exploration at a fraction of the cost of traditional manned aircraft operations.
Dagodzo completed his Skyfront UAV system flight certification at Skyfront’s manufacturing facility in California; one of a very select and small number of professionals globally to receive factory-level certification on this platform.
This direct manufacturer training, combined with his fourteen-year background in geology, remote sensing, and GIS, positioned him as the sole instructor for this program.
The training covered UAV flight operations, payload integration, mission planning for geophysical surveys, data acquisition protocols, and safe operational procedures aligned with Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) regulations.
Among the trainees were female geophysicists and geologists, who are holding their own in a field where women remain significantly underrepresented.
The Minerals Commission has explained that including the female contingent in this training was part of its broader goal of aligning to national and international objectives of advancing gender equity in STEM fields, particularly in the extractive and resources sector.
The training drew recognition beyond Ghana’s borders with Skyfront themselves acknowledging and sharing the program on their social media platforms, highlighting the significance of this deployment for the global UAV geophysics community.
Dagodzo’s enterprise, Skyway UAS, is an Accra-based commercial UAV operations company providing drone mapping, inspection, and remote sensing solutions for utilities, infrastructure, mining, and environmental monitoring across West Africa.
Ghana is one of Africa’s leading gold producers and home to significant deposits of bauxite, manganese, diamonds, and other minerals. Traditional aeromagnetic surveys for mineral exploration have historically relied on expensive manned aircraft operations, placing them out of reach for many exploration programs.
But the drones have been steadily integrated into the country’s mining space, with Skyway UAS supplementing the aerial data solutions being offered by RocketDNA, which also has operations in South Africa and Australia.
Dagodzo holds an MSc in Mineral Exploration from the University of Ghana — where his research focused specifically on satellite-based mineralisation mapping using LANDSAT and ASTER imagery — he brings both the geoscience foundation and the UAV technical expertise required to translate raw aeromagnetic data into meaningful exploration intelligence.
Aside from the latest training he facilitated for the mining commission, Dagodzo also led the design and implementation of power utility Ghana Grid Company’s (GRIDCo) first national UAV inspection program for high-voltage transmission lines, delivering 60 percent faster inspections and 40 percent cost savings. He also authored the company’s first UAV Operations Manual and Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and trained 33 of its personnel in how to drone.