From Sydney to Papua New Guinea

Macquarie Geotechnical’s Geophysics team recently completed a downhole seismic campaign on critical infrastructure in Papua New Guinea—a great example of how our Sydney-based expertise reaches far beyond Australia.

With live assets, it is vital to gather as much information about them as possible, which is where geophysical techniques can help complement traditional drilling, logging, and lab testing.

Six boreholes were logged through vertical seismic profiling ahead of a planned tailing’s storage facility raise to meet operational output from the asset owner. This technique was able to generate 1D profiles of shear wave velocity within the structure, allowing for the calculation of engineering parameters such as Young’s modulus and G Max (small-strain shear modulus).

The work was undertaken in two mobilisations from our Sydney base to the Eastern Highlands in PNG. Once there, the MacGeo crew were assisted by the incredibly helpful and enthusiastic local staff who helped make sure that this time-critical work was completed ahead of schedule.

Distance is no issue for our Geophysics team who are often mobilising all around Australia, and beyond!