Mine Surveying Conference

IMSCON 2008

The opportunity to attend the Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa conference and give a presentation on Mine Surveying Regulation in New South Wales was a great experience. South Africa is facing many of the same issues that Australia is in regard to Mine surveying. The day prior to the conference, many of the larger mining companies take the opportunity to gather their mine surveyors for a group meeting to discuss various issues. The availability of several of the key Institute members made it possible to hold a brief meeting with them in the afternoon along with President of PLATO (South African equivilent of BOSSI) and the President of the International Society for Mine Surveying to discuss issue effecting the Institute and Indusrty in South Africa, sharing with them some expeiences in Australia.

Thursday the conference proper commenced with a good spread of practical, technical and Institute centred presentations. Tertiary education in South Africa is set to change in the very near future which will have a significant impact on Mine Surveyors. Currently there are two avenues to a Certificate of Competency in South Africa. Diploma or degree in Mineral Surveying from a tertiary institution or through completing the Chamber of Mines exams before sitting the Certificate of Competency exam which are similar to our own in New South Wales, with the exception of Minerals valuation. The future will see the structure of the tertiary education framework change and necessitate a review of the mine surveying courses currently offered and perhaps a move to the certificate of competency being an Advanced/graduate diploma? But its early days.