I created an animated 3D visualization of the Climax Mine, near Leadville, CO, using a digital elevation model produced from airborne lidar data collected in 2020-21 and National Aerial Image Program (NAIP) images from 2021. I downloaded the elevation data and NAIP images, resampled them to 3 m resolution, and mosaiced them to cover the area of the mine, using the {rgeedim} package (More on this package). I used the {rayshader} (more here) package to create the 3D model of topography overlain by the NAIP image, capturing it from 400 viewpoints using an R script and combining those images into an animation. It can be downloaded from the viewer below. The animation is copyright Joseph A. Mason; licensed under a CC-BY-ND License.

Here is the R code I used to create this visualization with rayshader and rgeedim. It can easily be adapted for other locations or types of imagery; also take a look at the rayshader tutorials for many more ideas along these lines.