As early as in 1976, Ahmad, in a seismic team led by geophysicist Ahsan Mubarak conducted a three-dimensional geometrical survey and made several reconnaissance tours of the suitable areas in Balochistan. After a one-year-long survey, the team found a mountain which matched their specifications. The 185-meter high-rise granite mountain was founded in the Ras Koh region of the Chagai Division of Balochistan, which at their highest point rise to a height of 3,009 metres. Ahmad had long noted that the underground weapon-testing laboratories in the mountain should be "bone dry" and capable of withstanding a ~20 kilotonne nuclear force from the inside. Within a week, further test experiments were conducted to measure the water content of the mountains and the surrounding area and to measure the capability of the mountain's rock to withstand a nuclear test. Once this was confirmed, Ishfaq Ahmed finalised the work on a three-dimensional survey of the area.