Mine surveyor

A Mine Surveyor is a specialized professional responsible for conducting surveys and mapping underground and surface mining operations. They play a critical role in ensuring accurate spatial data collection, monitoring, and documentation for mine planning, development, and safety compliance.

Here are typical activities of mine surveyors:

• Plan and coordinate surveying activities for underground and surface mining operations, including establishing survey control points, selecting survey methods, and prioritizing survey tasks based on project requirements.
• Conduct surveys to measure and map underground workings, surface features, mineral deposits, and mining infrastructure using a variety of surveying instruments and techniques, such as total stations, GPS, laser scanners, and drones.
• Create accurate maps, plans, and 3D models of mining areas, including mine workings, ore bodies, tunnels, shafts, benches, stockpiles, and surface facilities. This involves processing survey data and integrating it into GIS and mine planning software.
• Calculate volumes of material excavated, stockpiled, or reclaimed using survey data and volumetric calculations. This information is essential for mine planning, production monitoring, and inventory management.
• Conduct surveys of stopes, pits, and other mining excavations to determine their dimensions, orientations, and stability. This information is used to optimize ore extraction, design support systems, and ensure safe working conditions.
• Perform grade control surveys to monitor the quality and distribution of ore within mining areas. This involves sampling ore faces, mapping geological features, and adjusting mining operations to maximize ore recovery and minimize dilution.
• Establish and maintain survey control networks to provide accurate spatial reference points for mining activities. This includes monitoring and adjusting control points to ensure consistency and precision in survey measurements.
• Analyze survey data to identify trends, anomalies, and potential hazards in mining operations. This may involve generating cross-sections, longitudinal sections, and plan views to visualize geological structures and mining layouts.
• Ensure compliance with safety regulations and standards governing mine surveying activities. This includes conducting surveys to monitor ground stability, ventilation airflow, and hazardous gas concentrations to mitigate safety risks.
• Maintain and calibrate surveying instruments and equipment to ensure accurate and reliable measurements. This involves regular inspection, cleaning, and adjustment of instruments to maintain optimal performance.
• Collaborate with mining engineers, geologists, geotechnical engineers, and other professionals to support mine planning, design, and operations. This includes sharing survey data, providing technical expertise, and contributing to interdisciplinary projects.
• Document survey findings, methodologies, and recommendations in survey reports, mine plans, and regulatory submissions. This includes preparing accurate and comprehensive documentation for internal use and regulatory compliance.

The following job titles also refer to mine surveyor:

planner of mining operations
mine plan maker
mine operations surveyor
mine surveyors
mine records keeper
mine planning surveyor
mining surveyor

Mine surveyors work in both office and field environments, splitting their time between surveying activities in the mine and office-based tasks such as data processing, analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork may involve working in underground mine workings, open-pit mines, or remote outdoor locations, often in challenging conditions such as confined spaces, variable terrain, and inclement weather.

A bachelor’s degree in surveying, geomatics, mining engineering, or a related field is typically required for entry-level positions as a mine surveyor. Practical experience gained through internships, co-op programs, or entry-level positions in surveying or mining is valuable. Proficiency in surveying instruments, mine planning software, and GIS tools is essential. Mine surveyors may also require certification or licensure, depending on jurisdictional requirements. Continuous learning and staying updated on advancements in surveying technology and mining practices contribute to ongoing professional development as a mine surveyor.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Mine surveyor is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to mine surveyor.

mine health and safety engineer
hydrogeologist
mine mechanical engineer
mine planning engineer
mine development engineer

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of mine surveyor.

• Impact of geological factors on mining operations: Be aware of the impact of geological factors, such as faults and rock movements, on mining operations.
• Geographic information systems: The tools involved in geographical mapping and positioning, such as GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographical information systems), and RS (remote sensing).
• Mathematics: Mathematics is the study of topics such as quantity, structure, space, and change. It involves the identification of patterns and formulating new conjectures based on them. Mathematicians strive to prove the truth or falsity of these conjectures. There are many fields of mathematics, some of which are widely used for practical applications.

These skills are necessary for the role of mine surveyor.

• Use a computer: Utilise computer equipment or digital devices to facilitate quality control, data management, and communication. Follow instructions given by a computer programme, create computer files or documents.
• Maintain plans of a mining site: Prepare and maintain surface and underground plans and blueprints of a mining site; carry out surveys and perform risk assessment of potential mining sites.
• Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
• Maintain records of mining operations: Maintain records of mine production and development performance, including performance of machinery.
• Manage mine site data: Capture, record and validate spatial data for the mine site.
• Process collected survey data: Analyse and interpret survey data acquired from a wide variety of sources e.g. satellite surveys, aerial photography and laser measurement systems.
• Perform surveying calculations: Perform calculations and gather technical data in order to determine earth curvature corrections, traverse adjustments and closures, level runs, azimuths, marker placements, etc.
• Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
• Supervise staff: Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.
• Prepare technical reports: Prepare technical reports that describe results and processes of scientific or technical research, or assess its progress. These reports help researchers to keep up to date with recent findings.
• Create thematic maps: Use various techniques such as choropleth mapping and dasymetric mapping to create thematic maps based on geospatial information, using software programmes.
• Create GIS reports: Use relevant geographic informations systems to create reports and maps based on geospatial information, using GIS software programmes.
• Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
• Identify GIS issues: Highlight GIS-issues that require special attention. Report on these issues and their development on a regular basis.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of mine surveyor. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Dimension stone: The types of stones that are cut and finished following detailed specifications of size, shape, colour, and durability. Dimensional stones are commissioned for usage in buildings, paving, monuments, and the like.
• Minerals laws: Law related to land access, exploration permits, planning permission and minerals ownership.
• Mining engineering: Fields of engineering relevant to mining operations. Principles, techniques, procedures and equipment used in the extraction of minerals.
• Health and safety hazards underground: The rules and risks affecting health and safety when working underground. 

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of mine surveyor. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Delineate area with marks: Set out and recover documentation such as marks or stakes to be used in surveying.
• Negotiate land access: Negotiate with landowners, tenants, mineral rights owners, regulatory bodies or other stakeholders to obtain permission to access areas of interest for exploration or sampling.
• Operate surveying instruments: Operate and adjust measuring instruments such as theodolites and prisms, and other electronic distance-measuring tools.

2165 – Cartographers and surveyors

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References

1. Mine surveyor – ESCO
2. Featured image: By Frank H. Nowell – Alaska, Western Canada and United States Collection, Public Domain