Surveying

The surveying is one of the two events that does not involve the entire team (the other is airleg drilling). Two of the members of the team will be given a starting point, and be responsible for reporting the coordinates of a finishing point already in place. The equipment supplied to the surveyors is an old fashioned vernier transit, a plumb bob, and a 50-metre steel tape. The orientation of the finishing point to the starting point demands the setting of a temporary point between the two.

Upon the start of the event, the surveyors must unpack their equipment and begin surveying. Once the finishing point has been located with respect to the starting point, and the equipment has been packed away, the judge will call time. The team will then be given the actual coordinates of the starting point, and must calculate the coordinates of the finishing point in fifteen minutes. Failure to do so will result in a disqualification. The event is scored on both speed and accuracy; each being weighted half of the total score.

This event still plays a major part in the mining process, albeit in a much more advanced form. These days technologies are involved that map and record points on the mine site using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) via satellites to the nearest millimeter. This data is recorded and relayed directly to the relevant offices for analysis.