The 2025 AIMS Hunter Valley Seminar was held at the Mercure Hotel, Hunter Valley Gardens on Friday 21st November, with over 75 members and sponsors in attendance.
The event also saw support from industry partners, with 11 sponsors in attendance, sharing their latest products and offerings, both as part of the trade exhibit and through short sponsors updates incorporated into the program.
A highlight of the event were two presentations from mine sites in the Hunter Valley, highlighting the mining methods in use, challenges involved and innovative solutions that they employ. Candidate Surveyor Dale Hall presented on the work that the survey team undertakes at Wambo United opencut and Mal Walker presented on the recent closure of Wambo underground mine, including the entry sealing processes that they have followed.
Lloyd Pilgrim provided an update on the surveying program at the University of Newcastle and the challenges facing the program into the future, with no new enrolments being accepted in 2026 while the overall program is reviewed.
PhD candidate Mansoor Sabzali provided an interesting summary on his research into errors effecting long range laser scanners. Mansoor has been a regular presenter at the Hunter Valley seminar for the last few years as he has undertaken his research and we wish him well with his pending PhD thesis submission and review.
It was great to have two representatives from the NSW Regulator in attendance to meet with surveyors and discuss the Regulator's requirements. Moe Sadri also gave an informative update on the common issues being experienced with Mine Record Tracing and Mine Workings Spatial Information submissions and the work occurring behind the scenes to improve the processes.
AIMS would like to thank all presenters and sponsors for their involvement in the event and to members for their attendance.
We would also like to encourage surveyors to nominate to present on surveying and operations at their mines at a future seminar.
Review from Peter Sergeant.
