Other Services

HGI provides many other services for a diverse range of industries…

We employ a diverse team of geophysicists, geologists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, geotechnical engineers, and business professionals to solve your problems. We provide services to the environmental, engineering, groundwater, mining, oil & gas, natural resource exploration industries, as well as many more. Using cutting edge technology, our staff provides innovative, solutions-oriented geophysical consulting while anticipating and addressing the changing needs of our clients.

Please visit the links below to learn more about additional services provided by hydroGEOPHYSICS.

HGILeakDetection.com
HGI takes leak detection seriously and a significant portion of our business comes from understanding where leaks have occurred, the impacts of a leak, and leak mitigation. By applying sound principles of electrically-based geophysics we can detect the smallest leaks, even where others have failed. We offer a suite of methods and tools to solve your problem quickly, minimizing precious downtime while eliminating false positives.

Liner Leak Location
HGI has an astounding success record for liner leak location in containment structures lined with HDPE and geosynthetics containing highly conductive solutions such as processed mine waste-water, brine solution, PLS from copper and gold mines, among others.  Our liner leak location approach is a unique technology in the liner leak detection market, and one that is recognized by our growing list of clients, liner installers, liner manufacturers and our competitors.

Tank Leak Detection
Through our many years of experience with storage tank characterization and monitoring, HGI has become a recognized leader in the application of geophysical methods to perform subsurface tank leak detection and monitoring in industrial complexes.

Pipeline Leak Location
HGI provides innovative deployment of geophysical techniques for the detection of subsurface pipeline leak location.  Subsurface pipes can exist in almost any environment; from water and sewage pipes in residential and commercial areas to material transfer pipes in industrial settings.

Bare Liner Leak Location
Bare liner leak location, also known as ‘Liner Integrity Surveys’ are widely recognized as a critically important factor in overall construction quality assurance (CQA) management for geosynthetic lined containment facilities.  Construction Quality Assurance is a planned system of activities that provides stakeholders reassurance that structures were assembled correctly and within the regulatory guidelines of local and regional governments.

Soil Covered Liners & Leach Pads
hydroGEOPHYSICS Inc. (HGI) uses electrical geophysics to locate leaks on soil covered liners & leach pads.  Examples include landfills in the solid waste management industry and ore-covered leach pads in the mining industry.

Cap and Cover Leak Detection
Covers and capping systems have been used in the mining, industrial, and environmental sectors as part of remediation efforts and closure processes for over two decades.  HGI’s cap & cover leak detection surveys provide clients with a more holistic approach to challenges faced during reclamation while maintaining regulatory standards throughout closure operations.

Tailing Pond Leak Location
Tailing ponds are engineered containment systems  used in the industry as settling basins and containment for a mixture of water, sand, clay and residual mining material.  These ponds are typically impounded with a dam and contained in a variety of ways; from unlined to  double lined systems depending on the age and application.

HeapSolutions.com
HeapSolutions, a hydroGEOPHYSICS service, is a mining-related resource designed to help mine operators, leaching supervisors, and metallurgists understand technologies that are available to characterize and monitor heaps. Follow the links below for more information on Heap Solutions.

Heap Characterization
HGI has a variety of tools that can be applied to more fully understand the hydraulic nature of engineered rock piles (dumps, heaps, stockpiles, tailings, etc.). Geophysical methods can be used to characterize these complex structures and to highlight potential problems that may arise within them, such as seeps forming along the side slope, solution pooling near the surface, or excessive head build up on liners. We can help analyze biological health, effective oxidation, and preferential flow within these engineered rock structures.

Monitoring Injections
HGI has a suite of tools aimed specifically at monitoring underground injections, including our GeotectionTM resistivity monitoring system, Mobile Solutions Lab, and thermal techniques. Resistivity monitoring has the distinct advantage of sensing changes far from the sensor location by measuring some degree of energy transport through the entire monitoring area.

Surface Leaching
An important aspect in hydro-metallurgy, or any subsurface-based amendment process, is understanding where the solution is going. HGI has been monitoring leaching processes for over a decade and we understand the effects of solution movement within crushed and ROM ore, including ore placement, effective ripping, crush size, and any pretreatment.

Assurance Monitoring
Termed ‘Assurance Monitoring’, the process involves using electrical resistivity to monitor changes in soil saturation over time to solve problems related to potential system failure (example: slope failures due to fluid loading). The repeated resistivity measurements show subsurface soil saturation changes over time giving significant information relating to changing conditions and impacts that those changes may have. Applications include heaps, waste rock, tailings, and monolithic covers.

Hgiworld.com
The HGI corporate site is a resource for all of our geophysical services. HGI places the latest geophysical solutions and technical innovations directly into our customers’ hands. While we offer established services and products, we also understand that each and every client has very different and specialized challenges calling for individualized attention. Therefore, our scientists can develop and implement specific and focused geophysical engineering solutions customized for your project.

Environmental
Our scientists have extensive experience in characterizing the subsurface to map contaminant plumes related to landfill seepage, acid rock drainage, unintentional waste discharges, and spills of non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs and DNAPLs).

Plume Mapping
Organic and inorganic contaminants of sufficient concentration, whether in the vadose zone or in the groundwater, can be mapped from the surface with geophysical methods. HGI is an expert at mapping plumes through the employment of hydrogeologists who ensure that geophysical interpretations match hydrological expectations.

Acid Rock Drainage – ARD
ARD is a critical and time sensitive issue for the mining industry. HGI has several geophysical techniques and survey programs that are available to aid in the process of solving this challenging problem.

Landfill
During the past 25 years, geophysical methods have proven to be an efficient and effective means for characterizing the subsurface geology and hydrogeology associated with landfills. A variety of techniques can be applied to define landfill properties, leachate circulation, or regional contamination from offsite seepage.

Geotechnical
Using geophysics to help solve geotechnical problems may not seem like a logical choice, but HGI has been increasingly applying a variety of techniques to enhance the state of knowledge of engineering and construction projects. Whether it is to understand concrete properties of roads, geologic materials for excavation, foundations or hazards, geophysical mapping of electrical, seismic, or magnetic properties can provide a greater level of confidence to your project.

Rippability Analysis
Rippability is the ease with which soil or rock can be mechanically excavated. Seismic refraction has historically been the geophysical method utilized to indirectly predetermine the degree of rippability.

Void Detection
Geophysical methods are widely used to non-invasively image voids, cavities, and other subsidence features relevant to engineering, geotechnical, and environmental considerations. Voids can occur in numerous forms and dimensions with differing causal effects.

Depth to Bedrock
Depth to bedrock can be a critical parameter in geotechnical investigations. Bedrock influences the stability of structures built above it, particularly in earthquake prone areas, and its depth can strongly impact initial construction costs based on rippability and excavation volume.

Engineering Construction
Knowledge of rock types, along with their competency and strength properties, are important parameters when designing any construction project. HGI employs many different types of geophysical methods to solve complex problems for the construction industry.

Concrete Inspection
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is one of the most effective techniques to provide non-destructive, real-time concrete inspection for a variety of targets. GPR concrete inspection surveys can be conducted on walls, floors, slabs, airport runways, tunnels, abutments, dams, garages, asphalt roads and other concrete structures. Surveys can also be conducted on asphalt roads and other surfaces for similar targets.

Mining
The mining industry presents many unique opportunities for geophysical applications that cannot be solved by ordinary characterization or monitoring methods alone. Geophysics offers tools that can be used to supplement a drilling or mapping campaign and gain greater insight into the subsurface.

Mineral Resource Mapping
Our experience with exploration for economically extractable resources includes, but is not limited to, the following applications: using resistivity and electromagnetics for detecting geothermal sources, and induced polarization, magnetics, and gravity for identification of base and precious metals.

Groundwater
hydroGEOPHYSICS, Inc, as the name implies, has conducted many types of hydrogeologic assessments using geophysical tools. Some examples of groundwater problems include aquifer characterization, groundwater exploration, basin delineation, fracture mapping, karst investigations, aquifer storage and recovery monitoring, plume delineation, and investigating groundwater/surface water interactions.

Basin Delineation
Exploring for groundwater is similar to exploring for any other resource and HGI uses geological and hydrogeological evidence along with geophysically-based measurements to help define potential new zones for exploitation.

Fracture Mapping
Fracture mapping is useful for identifying features that may represent infiltration zones or affect potential groundwater or solution pathways. Fracture mapping is also performed to find transport pathways of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) which are not easily traced by traditional characterization or monitoring methods such as drilling and groundwater sampling.

Karst Investigations
Geophysical methods, including seismic, microgravity, self-potential, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic, and ground-penetrating radar have been applied in karst areas for water resource and geohazard investigations for decades. HGI has had mulitple successes in characterization of karst areas.

Salt Water Intrusion
Geophysical methods can be used to characterize and monitor the subsurface in coastal areas to identify saline groundwater and map the changes in intrusions over time. Electrical resistivity and electromagnetic methods lend themselves to imaging salt water intrusion due to the highly conductive nature of saline groundwater.

Site Clearance
HGI employs a number of geophysical methods to locate and map buried infrastructure and objects, often in advance of an excavation or an exploratory drilling program. These include magnetic, electromagnetic (EM), and ground penetrating radar (GPR). The same tools are frequently applied to explore and map archaeological sites.

Pipeline
HGI has developed an extensive base of relevant project experience in performing studies locating buried pipelines in various environments. The method used can vary based on the target size and depth, the soil chemistry, site conditions and other parameters.

Underground Storage Tanks – UST
HGI has over 18 years of experience of locating and identifying USTs at numerous sites across the country. We employ a range of geophysical techniques, including ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction, and magnetics to custom design surveys based on available information on tank design and site conditions.

Archeological
Geophysics can provide an efficient, non-invasive, and more importantly, cost effective view of archaeological features in the subsurface. HGI can provide geophysical surveys uniquely tailored to the individual’s requirements, ranging from identifying locations of particular artifacts to providing site wide characterization.

Oil & Gas
Although HGI’s primary areas of expertise generally involve the shallow subsurface, the methodologies readily extend to deeper targets. An excellent example is HGI’s unique ability to monitor dynamic changes in subsurface fluid flow. HGI’s leak detection technology has been used to monitor fluid flow in an oil reservoir during a surfactant test at the Rocky Mountain Oil Field Testing Center (RMOTC).