Zimbabwe’s mine surveyors are taking their push for a bigger role in an increasingly digital mining industry to Masvingo this week, where the profession will debate its changing responsibilities at its annual conference, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe (AMSZ) President Stewart Gumbie said the profession was evolving alongside wider changes in the mining industry, with surveyors increasingly becoming custodians of information that can influence both current operations and future planning.
“The role of the mining surveyor is also evolving in line with the evolution that is already underway in our mining sector. We are now moving towards being a strategic digital data custodian and administrator. Gone are the days of trial and error because now, with big data, we can run multiple simulations,” Gumbie said.
The shift means surveyors are increasingly expected to generate reliable digital information that can be used across different parts of a mining operation, rather than simply providing measurements for immediate technical requirements.
Big data and digital modelling are also changing how mining companies approach planning. Operators can run different scenarios before committing to a particular mining method, allowing them to compare potential outcomes based on profitability, environmental footprint and sustainability.
Gumbie said the data collected by surveyors was becoming an important input into these simulations, allowing mining companies to test different mining methods before committing to one.
“We can now pick, for instance, the best mining method based on various simulations that we can run from our big data using high-end technology and support from the information and the data that surveyors collect and build into the system,” Gumbie said.
The evolution comes as the AMSZ prepares for its 41st Annual General Meeting and Conference on August 27–28 at the Great Zimbabwe Hotel in Masvingo.
Held under the theme “From Survey to Service and Strategic Partnerships for National Mining Growth,” the event will bring together mine surveyors and stakeholders from across the mining industry to examine the profession’s changing role and its contribution to broader sector growth.
The conference programme extends beyond technical surveying, with discussions expected to cover policy and regulatory reforms, cadastre modernisation, environmental, social and governance requirements, beneficiation and the regularisation of small-scale mining. Government officials, mining companies, investors, development partners, suppliers and technical experts are expected to participate.
The gathering builds on an evolving AMSZ conference agenda that has increasingly positioned mine surveying as a strategic function within the mining industry, with previous discussions placing emphasis on data integrity, operational excellence and investor confidence.
This year’s focus on “From Survey to Service” takes that conversation a step further, putting the emphasis on how surveyors can translate their technical expertise and growing digital capabilities into services and strategic partnerships across the mining value chain.
For an industry increasingly dependent on data to determine how mines are planned, developed and operated, the Masvingo conference comes at a time when the traditional survey peg is becoming only one part of a much broader professional role.
