GeoGroup Companies help Exxaro Secure the Safety of its New Lakeside Towers Development

The New Exxaro’s Lakeside Towers Office Development was developed over a dolomite rock formation. The dolomite formation is renowned for developing sinkholes and this poses a potential risk to the safety of structures built upon them and hence the people within those structures.

Terra Monitoring and Geomech Africa, both Geogroup companies, were contracted to install three sets of rod-extensometers underneath the raft foundation of the building. The extensometers will measure settlement, heave, displacement and deformation in soil and rock below the building and will give the engineers forewarning of the development of any sinkholes.

Geomech Africa used symmetrix drilling to create holes for the rod-extensometers and Terra Monitoring installed and commissioned them. After the completion of the building, the rod-extensometers will be connected to the Emergency Management System of the building where a warning will be issued if any movement of the rod-extensometers is detected.