Purpose. Study of the effectiveness of topographical survey methods when solving the main tasks of surveying support for the disturbed lands reclamation.Methods. Comparative analysis of the topographical survey results, which was conducted with the use of electronic total station and a surface laser scanner during reclamation. The heap leaching dump at the Belaya Gorka Site of the Rodnikovoye Field has been chosen as an object for topographical survey. To compare adequately, the electronic total station and the laser scanner were chosen of the same accuracy class. The determination of the values accuracy of the area and volume of an object during a tacheometric survey depends on the discreteness of surveying pickets. In practice, the density of the pickets' arrangement is limited by the working capacity of the surveying crew, which, as a rule, is several hundred pickets per day, and the density is two or three survey points per 100 m 2 of the object. To determine the dependence of measurement accuracy on the pickets' density during the tacheometric survey, it was carried out at four different scales, with the distance between the pickets from 5 to 25 meters. The density of points (pickets) of a surface laser scanner, which was used in the studies, is 500 points per 100 m 2 of survey area.
Findings.Based on the results of the tacheometric survey and surface laser scanning of the heap leaching dump, two variants of the topographic maps of the surface and its smoothed digital model have been obtained. Detailed surface laser scanning at an increased level in comparison with a tacheometric survey improves the topographic map accuracy. Improved accuracy when determining the volume on a survey scale of 1:500 -1:2000 is 12%.Originality. A new concept for topographical surveying is proposed when solving the surveying problems of reclaiming the disturbed lands, based on the methods of surface laser scanning.Practical implications. Use of the surface laser scanning technology makes possible to obtain the prompt threedimensional visualization of the surveyed area, to ensure high accuracy and degree of detailed survey, to increase the working capacity and field surveying conditions, to solve the main tasks of surveying support of the disturbed lands reclamation in the shortest possible time and with the required surveying quality.