The RICS Minerals and Waste Management Faculty holds membership of the International Society for Mine Surveying (ISM).

ISM is an association of specialists in mine surveying and related fields. ISM is a non-governmental and non profit-making organisation and a permanent member of the World Mining Congress carrying out its activities as an independent international organisation.

The aim of ISM is to encourage co-operation in the various fields of mine surveying by means of:

• The organisation of scientific congresses
• The establishment of commissions for special fields of mine surveying
• The fostering and issuing of publications, particularly those relating to the congresses and the commissions
• Cooperation with the international societies in the fields of mining, geodesy, geology, geophysics, rock-mechanics and so on.
• The fostering of worldwide co-operation in mine surveying by exchanging students, academic staff and practitioners in mine surveying between individual countries. In order to achieve the aims of ISM, national associations or sections of mine surveyors in the appropriate specialist organisations should be constituted, unless they already exist.

Members of ISM include:

• Africa: Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• Europe: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia
• North America: Canada, United States of America
• South America: Bolivia, Columbia, Chile
• Asia: China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam
• Australia and Oceania: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia

The structure of ISM includes 6 commissions:

• ISM Commission 1: Education, legal issues, web presentation, history
• ISM Commission 2: Geometry of mineral deposits / mineral resources management
• ISM Commission 3: Instruments, mine surveying measurements, mining cartography
• ISM Commission 4: Rock and ground movements, subsidence damages
• ISM Commission 5: Environmental planning
• ISM Commission 6: Economic transformations, sustainable development, land reclamation, new energy resources
  

Congresses

ISM has organised congresses since 1969 with an event planned for every 3 years. In 2004, the XII International ISM Congress was held in Beijing, China.

In 2007, the XIII Congress will be held in Budapest, Hungary on 24-28 September. The Congress will be located at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The theme for this year’s event is: ‘The progressive Mine Surveying of the World’, broken into 6 sub-headings:

1. Laws, rights, regulations - legal aspects and surround of mine surveyors and mine surveying.
2. Modern surveying instruments and methods in the mine surveying.
3. Computer technologies in the mapping of underground, open cast and hydrocarbon mining.
4. Prognosis of the deformation and movement of rock mass and surface,
5. Protection of natural and man-made environment of the mines.
6. Education, history and activity of mine surveyors and other experts dealing with the problems of mining and post mining areas.

The Minerals and Waste Management Faculty will be present at the congress in Budapest with Dr. Gareth Powell presenting a paper on ‘Mining Subsidence and Legal Remedies in Britain’.

Please follow the links to the right hand side of the page for the full paper and for the ISM website.