GeoZone GeoServices
Instrumentation Engineering in Johannesburg

Specialists in Geotechnical Engineering, slope stability analysis, foundation design, geotechnical investigations, rockfall protection systems, geotechnical instrumentation and geotechnical monitoring, mining codes of practice.

in Geotechnics and nearly 30 years experience gained in Europe, Africa and the Middle East across a wide range of projects ranging from instrumenting dams, assessing support for tunnels to site investigations for a variety of different projects. He founded GeoZone GeoServices in 2009 and the company has worked on a number of large projects including the Gautrain, Metolong Dam and the St Helena Airport in the South Atlantic. GeoZone provides a one-stop-shop for the characterisation of rock masses, assessment of their engineering behaviour, and remedial measures in terms of anchors, bolting, mesh and rockfall protection systems. Experience gained from assessments of mine pit stability, road cuttings, dam foundations and bridge abutments is brought to bear to provide the best solution to any rock engineering problem. Our sister company Rock Africa is able to supply and install rockfall protection systems, and has as part of the service highly developed rope access skills, most spectacularly seen on Chapmans Peak Drive. We have a close association with Geobrugg Switzerland as well as major suppliers of rock bolts, rock anchors and mesh. GeoZone GeoServices has considerable experience in sourcing aggregate sources for quarries and borrow materials for road constuction. We have managed the process from reconnaiscance, field mapping, drilling, logging, sampling, volume calculations and reporting. Much of our work has been sourcing G5 materials for road construction, as well as lower spec products for subbase, selected layer and general fills. We have established good working relationships with the South African laboratories and are able to schedule and analyse laboratory data to determine the suitability of various geological materials for road building. In terms of our quarry expertise, we have carried out exploration programmes for tillite, dolerite, granite gneiss and sandstone, assessing not only the geological aspects of the materials but also how the deposit relate to the environment, including such issues as affected communities, groundwater, environmental, the locations of graves, access roads and distance to market. We have also had experience of sourcing materials for dam construction, including the suitability of materials for filters and core construction. Numerous books, papers, and university theses have been written on this vast subject which ranges from simple strip footings for low-cost houses to a fully-fledged pile design for multi-storey office towers of the ilk which appear to mushroom overnight in places like Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. Whatever the project, the need for good geotechnical input is required, as it is only by knowing the shear strength parameters of the substrate, the depth to a suitable bearing medium and the location of the water table, can a satisfactory foundation design be arrived at. Grey areas lead to overdesign with associated cost implications. Far better to spend a little more on the geotechnical investigation and make significant savings on concrete and steel during the construction phase. We all now know the importance of a good geotechnical model of a site, and armed with this knowledge, GeoZone is able to provide a foundation design service for any project. Whether it is a raft foundations for a low-cost housing devopment or a pile design for that multi-storey structure, we are able to assist. In addition we are able to provide recommendations for the construction of retaining walls including bearing capacities and active and passive earth pressures.