Major Project Portfolios

SMEC – Geotechnical Investigations for Feasibility and Detailed Designs for Additional Water Source for Zomba City (Domasi Dam)

Drilling across the dam axis, tunnel path and quarry site locations, rock quality surveys, conducting double packer permeability testing to depths as deep as 60m for grouting design. Foundation design for intake and WTP carried out through in situ and laboratory testing. All relevant testing pertaining to petrographic analysis, and rock properties were incorporated into the detailed feasibility study.

Expansion and Rehabilitation of Lilongwe Water Mains

Over 200km of new and existing pipeline was to be replaced or installed across the capital city of Lilongwe. Testing was carried out every 1km to establish subsoil conditions. Drilling was conducted for all reservoirs and pumping stations to establish the potential site’s ultimate bearing capacity and any recommendations for improvements.

Egenco – 300MW Coal Fired Power Plant

Geotechnical works were carried out for the consultant Fitchner for the various structural components for the power plant which include the Power plant, Substation, Overhead lines, Railway line etc. The works involved boreholes to recover soil samples, rock coring, DPSH testing and trial pits.

Mozambique – Malawi Interconnector

Substation expansion for Phombeya 400MW was facilitated through geotechnical through trial pit and borehole investigations. 48 pylon locations were studied, and 140 electrical resistivity points were tested to allow a comprehensive geotechnical report to be produced to IFC standards.

Shire Valley Irrigation Project

Geotechnical investigations for 100km of concrete canals from the hydroelectric dam intake through to the valley below to provide irrigation to the district of Chikwawa, including pumping stations and reservoirs.

Millennium Challenge Account – Geotechnical Investigations & Design

Geotechnical design and testing for 40+ Over-Head Lines and 5 Substations for Fictner, the CE of the project. Borehole drilling for each OHL and substation was carried out, bearing capacity design and recommendations for each case to determine the ultimate safe load and if stabilisation was required.

Katahira and Engineers International – Rehabilitation of Major Roads in Lilongwe

Sole consultants for Katahira and Engineers International from Japan to conduct a geotechnical survey across the length of road spanning from Mchinji Roundabout in Lilongwe to Chidzanja Junction. This included 56 road side CBRs, Benkelman beam analysis, geotechnical borehole drilling by Lilongwe bridge to determine design bearing capacity.

Traffic surveys were also conducted to map and plan the flow of traffic to allow the adequate design of the new road. Six different surveys including Axle Load Surveys were conducted over the space of 3 weeks.

Consultancy - Kamuzu Central Hospital Expansion

Full range of geotechnical testing was required due to poor soil conditions at the site. Investigations into the decomposed rock were required to find competent bearing strata for the multi-story buildings.

Quality control and consulting of all material layers though the cut and fill process, through to all concrete QC and testing.

New American Embassy Compound

In excess of 30 boreholes were drilled across the site to determine bearing capacities across the area to identify potential weak layers and provide suggestions for cut levels. 20m of rock coring was conducted to identify rock type and strengths.

Only approved geotechnical and QC testing agency throughout the construction of the Embassy.

Chipata Thermal Power Plant

Full geotechnical testing and design for proposed powerplant in Chipata. This included 16 boreholes to analyse subsoil conditions and bearing capacity across the site, 30+ trial pits to test percolation, water seepage and in situ soil strength.

Full hydrological flood assessment to include modelled flood lines for 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year floods. Drainage recommendations as well as road elevations for access roads were given.

Design of Solid Municipal Waste Management Centers

Two designated green and brownfield sites in two cities were investigated, excavated and drilled and designed to establish the feasibility of expanding the current waste treatment plants, while also creating a new greenfield site for the new municipal solid waste facility in Lilongwe and Blantyre.

Mudi Dam - Water Treatment Plant

Rehabilitation and capacity building of Mudi Dam, to include borehole investigations across dam axis, packer permeability testing though the dam wall and clay cores. Soil and bearing testing in the new WTP locations.

Sovereign Metals Limited - Kasiya

Exploratory drilling for a globally significant rutile (titanium oxide) deposit. Exploration drilling was carried out across the deposit footprint, predominantly using push-tube drilling and diamond drilling when hard strata was encountered.

Fortune Hills - Graphite Mineral Exploration – Kasungu

Graphite mineral exploration on a greenfield site in Kasungu. 90-100% core recovery achieved throughout, logging and processing of samples in collaboration with international geologists.

ERAMET Minerals - Mchinji

Exploratory drilling using push-tube undisturbed sampling to carry out rutile resource estimation across a range of areas in the Mchinji region.

Mkango Resource Limited

23 geotechnical boreholes 175 trial pits excavated to 5m were carried out across the potential mine site to determine subsoil bearing capacity, settlement analysis, shear potential for the surrounding site to house a tailing facility, mine processing plant with dynamic loading, ore stockpile site and auxiliary mine infrastructure.

Lotus Resources – Karonga

Drilling to quantity new areas of uranium resource after the mine reopened after being put into maintenance. Multiple 150m holes were drilled along existing and greenfield sites.

Galena Resources

Diamond drilling along a ridge in Dowa to establish the resource depth along several 200m deep boreholes. Logging and providing daily feedback to remote geologists to determine final drilling depths.

Karonga Water Supply Project

Investigations for four pump stations and reservoirs including WTPs encompassing 100km of new and existing pipeline across the district. Testing was carried out every 1km to establish subsoil conditions. Drilling was conducted for all reservoirs and pumping stations to establish the potential site’s ultimate bearing capacity and any recommendations for improvements.

20–60 MW Solar Farms × 8

Geotechnical, flood hydrological and topographical/drone surveys were carried out for eight large scale solar PV plants, to compile a comprehensive report for OPIC investors to IFC standards. Report include seismic activity, boreholes across the sites with compressive tests carried out on bedrock, triaxial testing allowable bearing capacity for various foundations.