Mine Surveying

Mine Surveying
"Surveying is the art of making such
field observations and measurements
as are necessary to determine
positions, areas, volumes, or
movements on the earth's surface.

Mine surveyingis a branch of

mining science and technology. It
includes all measurements,
calculations and mapping which
serve the purpose of ascertaining and
documenting information at all
stages from prospecting to
exploitation and utilizing mineral
deposits both by surface and
underground working.

(a) to determine the location and

extent of bodies of coal, ore, etc.,

(b) to determine the relative positions

of points in the mine with regard to
each other or to points on the surface.

Notes on history

A history of mine surveying would be

composed largely of a record of the
evolution of mine surveying instruments.
Such a record has been recently compiled
by D. D. Scott and others and published in
the Transactions of the American Institute
of Mining Engineers, Volumes XXVIIPXXXI.
A few of the more important points given
in this record follow.

1556 A. D. Agricola, in his De Re

Metallica describes the practice of
mine-surveying. The instruments
used were very crude, the principal
one being the stationary compass.

1571. Diggs describes the

"theodolitus," also applies the
principle of the telescope.

1633. Rossler invented the method of

suspending from a cord a compass
and clinometer.

1681. Houghton describes the use of

strings, plumbs and compass.

1686. Geometria Subterrania, of

Nicholas Voigtel (Eisle- ben, Saxony,
1686) exhibits slight development in
methods and instruments for mine
surveying.

1710. Strum proposed the

astrolabium for the miner.

1775. Kastner designed the quadrant

clinometer.

1785. Beyer describes the common

hanging compass. Tri- pod came into
use.
1798. Breithaupt introduced mine
theodolites-.
1820. First American transit
manufactured. 1843. Bourne first
used high class theodolite in tunnel
work.

1850. First American mine transit. Top

telescope first used.
1858. Shifting tripod head
successfully used.
1873. Coxe describes plummet lamp
used in anthracite coal mine.
1874. Coxe describes five hundred
foot steel tape used in coal mine
surveying.

Modern Survey
Instruments
Mine surveyors are involved in every
aspect of mining operations; this
includes
1.initial exploration,
2.initial construction of mine
operations, on-going mining works,
3.rehabilitation of site
4.abandonment stage after mining is
c ompleted

1. One Second Theodolite

One second Theodolite is a precise
horizontal angle measuring instrument
with a least count of 1 and is widely
used for surface and underground
traversing

GPS in Mining
The standard surveying method has
been with a traditional total station,
requiring a minimum of two survey
personnel for each crew. But it is slow
compared to GPS surveying and
requires users to set multiple control
points in sight of where the survey
work is to be performed.

GPS

Total Stations
Total Station is the combination of an
electronic distance measurement,
electronic theodolite and a
programmed calculator and
may be said to be an electronic
tacheometer theodolite.

The following are the principal

activities ofMine surveying:

The interpretation of the geology of

mineral deposits in relation to the
economic exploitation thereof
The investigation and negotiation of
mineral mining rights
Making and recording, and
calculations of mine surveying
measurements

The following are the principal

activities ofMine surveying:

Mining cartography
Investigation and prediction of effects
of mine working on the surface and
underground strata
Mine planning in the context of local
environment and subsequent
rehabilitation

The activities involve:

The location, structure, configuration,

dimensions and characteristics of the
mineral deposits and of the adjoining
rocks and overlying strata.
The assessment of mineral resreves
and the economics of their
exploitation
The acquisitation, sale, lease and
management of mineral properties

The activities involve:

Providing the basis of the planning,

direction and control of mine
workings to ensure economical and
safe mining operations
The study of rock and ground
movements caused by mining
operations, their prediction, and the
precautions and remedial treatment
of subsidence damage

Assisting in planning and

rehabilitation of land affected by
mineral operations and collaborating
with local government planning
authorities

STUDY OF MINE
SURVEYING
METHODS

Importance

A. In all surveys the importance and

the accuracy of conducting the work
should be directly proportional.
B. Pillars of sufficient size and
properly located
C. Royalties are often based on the
underground surveys.

D. Before any permanent openings

are made,
E. In order to avoid breaking into old
workings.
F. Geological features and
irregularities
G. Buildings, tracks, reservoirs,
streams, etc.,

H. Many mine surveying problems

occur that demand great exactness ;
for instance, to determine a point on
the sur- face directly above a given
point underground, in order that a
bore hole or shaft may be sunk to
connect the former with the latter.

I. A system of bore holes or drifts, an

examination of samples from the
body blocked out and a complete
survey will permit of the estimation
of the value of a mine or mineral
deposit.

Surveying The Mine

The survey of the mine as a whole has
for
its object the production of a map to
show essentially the underground
workings For
flat veins, seams or beds, a horizontal
plan is generally the only map made.

To survey the mine properly it is

essential
that some general plan be first laid out
and that, so far as possible, be closely
followed. In traversing drifts,
irregularities should be noted so that if
of importance
they will appear on all openings should
be noted.

The traverse may be carried along the

face but this is generally very
dangerous
and points established are so near to
the
working face that they will be blown
out by blasting.

In surveying large stopes it is often

impossible to use the transit. Special
methods must then be adapted. The
various types of clinometers and
needles
on cords have
been successfully used. Hand
compasses
or hand transits are then of great
assistance.

The field book should be a regular

and
accurate record of
The work of the surveying party
irrespective of the continuity of the
work,
or several books should be used so
that a
continuous record may be kept in one
book of the work in one mine or one

GEOGNOSY.
Preliminary to beginning underground
operations it is often necessary that the
location and extent of the deposit to be
mined should be determined. When
there
is an outcrop, this can generally be more
easily accomplished than when there is
no surface indication.

Stratified Deposits. Flat seams of coal

are
often so cut by streams that an
outcrop
may be traced for many miles. A
traverse may then be run along the
outcrop to determine the boundaries of
the coal.

Different Types of Mine Survey

Open-cut (Surface) Mine Survey

Bore Hole Survey
Open Pit Survey
Underground Survey
Stope Survey
Topographic Survey

Open Cut (Surface) Survey

Some of the duties undertaken by

surveyors in open-cut operations
include:
Machine Control
Road and Ramp Set Out
Volume Calculations

Machine Control (Open-cut Mine Surveying Duties)

Day to day activities of a mine

surveyor include machine control.
Machine control refers to setting out
designs and providing advice to
operators to ensure the excavation
process is completed appropriately to
the engineering design.

Road and Ramp Set-out (Open-cut Mine Surveying

Duties)

Surveyors will always be required to

set out roads and ramps. This
process will generally involve placing
'drop-in' pegs for an excavator to
begin it's dig, or road width and cut
and fill pegs for smoothing and
improving (e.g. by sheeting) an
existing road surface

Volume Calculations (Open-cut Mine Surveying Duties)

Volume calculations are very important in mining to not only

estimate the efficiency of machines and mining methods, but
also to determine how much contractors should be paid if
they are paid on a material-moved basis. Generally surveyors
will be required to conduct these calculations once per month
(it's referred to as 'End of Month' volumes) and provide them
to various sections of the mining company. The process of
calculating these volumes is by conducting survey 'pickups'
or 'locations' using various methods such as:
- Total Stations
- RTK GPS (Real-Time Kinematic - Global Positioning System),
or 'Surveying GPS'
- Automatic Laser Scanners
- Aerial Flyover Laser Data

Bore Hole Suvey

Borehole Mining(BHM) is a remote

operated method of extracting (
mining) mineral resources through
boreholesby means of high pressure
water jets. This process can be
carried-out from land surface, open
pit floor, underground mine or
floating platform orvesselthrough
pre-drilled boreholes.

Open Pit Survey

Method of mining, usually for metallic

ores, in which the waste and ore are
completely removed from the sides
and bottom of a pit which gradually
becomes an enormous canyonlike
hole

Underground Surveying

Distinctive features of underground surveying

are that stations are usually in the roof instead
of the floor; the object to be sighted and the
crosshairs of the telescope must be illuminated;
distances are usually measured on the slope;
either the transit tripod has adjustable legs or a
trivet is used; and often an auxiliary telescope
is attached to the transit, either at one end of
the horizontal axis or above the main
telescope, with the line of sight of the auxiliary
telescope parallel to that of the main telescope.

Horizontal and vertical distances are

computed from slope distances and vertical
angles. The transit is set up at one station,
being centered by plumb, and the vertical
distance from the station to the horizontal axis
of the transit is measured. A plumb bob is
hung at the next station, with a point on the
plumbline marked by some form of clamping
target. The vertical angle to the point so
marked is measured, and the distance from
horizontal axis to the target is taped.

Mining Laws

RA 7076 Peoples small scale mining

Act of 1991
RA 387 Petroleum Act of 1949
CA 137 MINING ACT
RA 7942 Philippine Mining Act of
1995