Fresh focus for surveyors in AIMS competition

Mine surveyors have proven they have a good eye for photography in a competition sparked by the need to add visual appeal to an industry website. Two Bowen Basin offerings took out the top prizes after the Australian Institute of Mine Surveyors (AIMS) launched a photo competition through the website www.minesurveyors.com.au “We desperately needed some great original photos for general use to keep the AIMS website visually interesting, so we decided to run a photo competition,” said Mark McShane from inTouch web services. An ex-mine surveyor, Mr McShane has been fulfilling the web manager role for nearly 20 years for AIMS. “The last time we ran the competition was back in 2015 and seeing some of the amazing images now being uploaded by some surveyors on social media platforms such as LinkedIn prompted us to consider running another competition,” Mr McShane said. The winning entry came from Peak Downs lead mine surveyor Callum Gardner and featured a scanner set up to allow geologists to undertake some highwall mapping for joints and structures. "I also used the scan so I could digitise the insitu coal roof, also known as Intercept/ R2C/ Contacts. Using the Trimble SPS986 GPS receiver on top of the scanner allowed me to accurately get the scanner's position on the mine's datum, making registration of the scans more accurate," he said. "The dragline in the background was uncovering coal and, with the scanner set up on the side of a bund, this presented a good photo opportunity.” Craig Sweeney from the Coppabella/Moorvale mine won second prize, with a photo of fellow surveyor Grant Michell using a MAVinci Sirius plane to fly a pit survey. "While it’s usually not a great time to fly early morning for photogrammetry, this particular pit orientation means the rising sun lights up the excavation areas well with minimal shadow and gives the surveyor a chance to complete the pit update before it gets too hot during the summer months,” Mr Sweeney said. Peabody Coppabella/Moorvale senior mine surveyor Craig Sweeney entered this photograph, featuring surveyor Grant Michell. Mr McShane said surveying was a profession that required extreme attention to detail, and he believed this skill often aligned with the ‘eye’ of a good photographer. "Additionally, the workplace for mine surveyors often involve unique locations that can be very photogenic," he said. "It is often said that a surveyor is the ‘first to arrive and the last to leave’ with any project. This often also means very early mornings and/or late afternoons, again offering photogenic moments to a surveyor at work that may include sunrise, sunsets or other spectacular weather backdrops. "Underground environments as well as open-cut operations can also be intriguing, especially to non-miners, if captured with some creativity." The AIMS Board, led by directors David Ericson and Callum McNaughton, sought sponsorship to contribute prizes for the photo competition and this was supported by UPG and Position Partners. UPG (Ultimate Positioning Group) is the authorised distribution partner for Trimble products in Queensland and, as it turned out, a piece of that equipment featured in the winning shot. "We were thrilled to see the winning entry for our sponsored prize of a DJI Mini 2 had a Trimble SPS986 GPS receiver on the scanner being used in the spectacular shot," UPG sales consultant Kevin Beaman said. Mr McShane said the competition had received about 60 submissions from throughout Australia. He said feedback had been very positive and that AIMS may consider making this an annual competition.

Fresh focus for surveyors in AIMS competition

Industry Queensland

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