Why is geological exploration not optional?

According to the search and rescue command center for missing persons in Ailao Mountain, Yunnan, all four missing staff members from the Kunming Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Center of the China Geological Survey have been found this morning and all of them have died.

The 4 geological surveyors are at least 25 years old

Carry one and a half days' rations

On November 13, four geological surveyors followed the plan and hiked into the interior of Ailao Mountain, crossed the mountain range and arrived at Xinping County, Yuxi City to complete the scheduled task. They had planned to go down the mountain in the afternoon of the 13th or the morning of the 14th, but they did not go down the mountain within the planned time.

The four people went into the mountains to conduct a forest resource survey, carrying tools such as a compass, an engineer shovel, a spade, and about one and a half days of rations. According to Wang Hongdong, director of the Zhenyuan Management Bureau of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, the oldest of the four missing persons is 32 years old and the youngest is 25 years old. They have all served in the military.

Rescue workers found

Fragments of the missing person's raincoat

On November 20, according to the front command of the rescue operation, after a carpet search in the downstream direction of the simple camping shack of the missing persons, in addition to the discovery of feces excreted by the staff, a piece of raincoat was found about one kilometer downstream of the intersection of two streams downstream of the feces. After comparison and confirmation with the driver of the missing unit, it was confirmed that the raincoat was the supply carried by the missing persons.

At 18:33 on November 21, the search and rescue command received a report from search and rescue personnel that three missing persons were found 1.85 kilometers southeast of the investigation site in Shuitang Town, Xinping County, Yuxi City, Ailao Mountain, with no vital signs. After receiving the report, the command immediately arranged for six rescue teams searching nearby to respond and set up a response point at Laoyingtang, 3.58 kilometers away from the location where the missing persons were found.

At the same time, a carpet search was carried out for the fourth missing person around the discovery site. At 8:32 am on November 22, the fourth missing person was found with no vital signs. The body transfer work is currently underway and the relevant causes are under in-depth investigation.

Geological surveys always face certain risks. In addition to forest surveys, related to them are geological surveyors and geological prospectors of various trades. Their work is very arduous and extremely dangerous.

Speaking of geological exploration teams

We must mention the "April 29th Incident"

In 1952, on May 1 of that year, the Central Geological Ministry decided to form the "429" exploration team and go to Tieshan again, and required the "429" exploration team to use drilling as an exploration method in the Tieshan mining area and submit more than 60 million tons of iron ore in about a year.

For the geologists of New China, it was the first time to conduct large-scale exploration in the Tieshan area. In addition, the Tieshan mining area was severely damaged by the Japanese invaders, and the data left behind were full of errors and omissions. The topographic map filled in did not even match the location of the mountain tops, making the exploration work difficult.

The "429" geological team is conducting topographic and geological survey of the ore deposit

After the target was determined, the members of the "429" geological exploration team carried heavy instruments on their backs, braved the scorching heat and severe cold, and traveled between high mountains and deep valleys all day, climbing mountains and crossing ridges, sleeping in the open air.

The "429" geological team studied the drilling geological conditions

The "429" geological exploration team found that the total reserves of Daye Iron Mine were 103,248 (thousand metric tons) and the pure copper reserves were 602 (thousand metric tons), revealing the geological mystery of Jianlin Mountain and breaking the conclusion of foreign scholars that Jianlin Mountain was a "blank area".

Geological surveys are not optional

Before any project is started, geological environment surveys and evaluations of the relevant geological environment and geological hazards must be carried out; objective natural conditions must be reflected truthfully and correct evaluations must be made, and the responsibility must be for life.

There are strict regulations for geological exploration, such as laying a hole or digging a pit. Engineering construction must comply with geological conditions, and the system of investigating accident responsibilities must be implemented. At the same time, there must be a certain amount of time to carry out exploration and research, and relatively large projects must have in-depth research results as a basis for preventing possible geological disasters.

Lu Yaoru, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said: "There was once a rail project that was several hundred kilometers long. Many tunnels needed to be dug along the way, and many geological problems had to be overcome during the construction. The last 300 meters happened to be on a fault zone. The relevant engineering personnel thought there was no problem and wanted to rush the construction schedule, planning to open it in one or two months. At that time, I firmly opposed it. Even if it was only 300 meters, it had to be done strictly in accordance with the six "advanced" procedures. If it was not done seriously, there might be problems in the future. As a result, the construction of the last 300 meters took more than a year. This example profoundly illustrates that when doing engineering construction, we must not be complacent and should be conscientious and serious from beginning to end."

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; a nine-story tower starts with a pile of earth. Scientific truths are tested in practice; great buildings are built on a solid foundation.” Only by understanding the geological conditions can the design and construction of a project be in harmony with nature and the hazards caused by the project be reduced.

A special person who can break more than 20 school bags in a year

"Travelers"

Engineering geological surveyors gave the drilling rigs a romantic name for changing their working locations, which is called "moving". Often, they have to carry the nearly 1-ton drilling rigs on their shoulders and hands to move them up the mountain.

The path built for the "moving" is muddy and slippery, making the "moving" not only difficult but also dangerous. If there is no water source in the drilling operation area, water must be carried from other places.

Geologists carry their equipment to the work area

The equipment required for geophysical exploration is even more exaggerated. In addition to precision instruments such as magnetotellurics and high-density electrical measurement systems, they also need to carry power supply batteries, magnetic bars, electrodes, satellite locators, special cables, laptops, salt and other items.

Since the field work is far from the residence and the mountains are high and the forests are dense, the geological prospectors choose to have lunch in the field, so everyone has to bring enough drinking water and dry food for the day. If the geophysical test area is gravel ground, they also have to use limited drinking water to dilute the salt and use salt water to increase the conductivity of the electrode.

Magnetotelluric instrument

First aid kits are also indispensable in the wild. All the necessities fill large backpacks, with an average weight of 30-40 kilograms per person. Some geologists have broken more than 20 backpacks a year.

A geologist who can't abseil

Not a good explorer

The mountain was covered with dense vegetation and there were no roads at all. In the low shrub area, the older geological prospectors cleared the way ahead, looking up as much as possible and using their bodies to bend the bushes as high as a person, so that the team could barely pass through; when encountering large areas of dense bamboo forests, they had to use hatchets to clear the way, and even if they were wearing special hiking shoes, they had to pay special attention to the bamboo stubble under their feet.

Geologist climbing a mountain

In addition to mastering exploration techniques, they also need to learn skills such as rock climbing, rappelling, equipment maintenance, and first aid. Whether it is a high mountain or a deep valley, as long as it is within the scope of railway planning and construction, they will survey it several times with their feet, draw the "ridge" several times with cables, and explore it meter by meter with instruments on their backs.

Geological surveyor rappelling operation

They use various means and methods

Conduct geological survey and exploration

For a certain area

Rocks, strata, structures

Geological conditions such as mineral resources, hydrology, and landforms

Conduct research

They are trying to understand the status of forest resources in the country.

Contribute your own strength

The silent contributions of generations of geologists

Unify survey and monitoring of natural resources

Reasonable and verifiable

Salute to all geological practitioners

Editor: Li Wei (School of Information Engineering, Fuyang Normal University)

Proofread by Jia Wencheng

Proofread by Chen Yuan

On-duty editor: Zhang Yu

Source: WeChat public account "Communist Youth League Central Committee" (ID: gqtzy2014) compiled from WeChat public accounts "Xinhuanet" (ID: newsxinhua), "Mining World" (ID: MiningWorld), "Transportation and Tourism Guide" (ID: jtlydb), "Dongchu Evening News" (ID: dcwb2013), Weibo @新京报我们视频, China Youth Daily Client