Monarch of all surveyors
WA is undeniably the resource centre of Australia, contributing about 58pc of Australia's mineral and energy exports. But with 92pc of its 2.6m inhabitants living in the southwest corner, the rest of WA is a variation of the “Wild West” –– sparsely populated towns with poor infrastructure, rugged terrain and a landscape of reds, greens, coppers and browns that stretch into the horizon. In other words, when someone pictures the Australian outback, they’re picturing WA. That same rustic beauty and isolation, though, can make surveying a challenge. And it makes surveying for mining a real test of adaptability and logistics skills. It can take about 1.5 days to get to the first site, and once there, there is total isolation,...