Industrial Attachment Report by R169219u

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT BY R169219U TIMOTHY NYAHWEMA
ENDORSEMENTS
Student:
NYAHWEMA TIMOTHY R169219U
Signature.................................................
Work Related Learning Supervisor

Ms LINDA M MOYO
Signature……………...................................
ACTING TECHNICAL SERVICES MANAGER
COMPANY STAMP
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Acknowledgements
I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help from many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to all of them.
I am highly indebted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Science staff for
imparting me knowledge, their guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing
necessary information regarding the industrial attachment.
I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to Ms L Moyo (VE Technical
Services) and industry persons for giving me such attention and time.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my family & members of Verify Engineering
(VE) for their kind co-operation and encouragement which helped me in completion of this
project.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague and fellow intern Mr Alexander

Chiundidza in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their
abilities.
Lastly I thank the Almighty for life and good health.
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this report to my commander at my work place for affording me the opportunity to
study Geospatial Intelligence. I also dedicate it to my loving wife and kids who were an
intrinsic source of inspiration in this quest. God bless you.
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ABSTRACT
The student did his industrial attachment at Verify Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, a wholly
government of Zimbabwe owned research and development technology company operating
under the purview of MHTESTD based in Harare. The purpose of the attachment was to
afford the student chance to link learnt theoretical concepts with practice during the 12
months period from 16 August 2018 to 30 June 2019. The industrial attachment is done in
partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor’s Degree in Geospatial Intelligence at
University of Zimbabwe. The student was attached under the GIS Department housed under
the Technical Services Section. The report outlines the responsibilities, processes of work and
duties in detail undergone during the attachment period. It also covers a brief history of
Verify Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, its organisational structure, operating environment, scope of
business, the company vision and mission statement. The report also detailed the
applicability of theory to practice after explaining the attachment experiences and the new
skills acquired and challenges faced during this period. The student was exposed to various
GIS related duties such as data collection using GPS and input into the company spatial
database; preparation of base maps for EIA and ESIA; preparation of weekly, monthly and
field reports; use remotely sensed data for evaluation and lastly processing and
interpretation of satellite imagery for mining planning, physical infrastructure and map
updating activities just to mention a few. The student’s experiences will then help point out
managerial problems identified and come up with recommendations for the organization.
Lastly the student makes a conclusion and recommendations to the University which mutually
benefit the University and Verify Engineering. These recommendations are entirely based on
the writer’s observations, experiences and research during the period from 16 August 2018
to 24 June 2019.
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List of abbreviations
 APO– Annual Plan of Operation(s)
 ASU– Air Separation Unit
 CTX– Coal-To-Liquid Fuels and Chemicals
 CTF–Coal-To-Fertiliser
 CTL–Coal-To-Liquid Fuels
 DBMS– Database Management System
 DEM– Digital Elevation Model
 DGES –Department of Geography and Environmental Science
 EIA– Environment Impact Assessment
 EMP– Environment Management Planning
 ESIA– Environment and Social Impact Assessment
 GIS– Geographic Information System
 GEOINT– Geospatial Intelligence
 GSZ– Geological Survey of Zimbabwe/Geological Society of Zimbabwe
 FIS– Fire Information System
 FOSS– Free Open Source Software
 ILWIS– Integrated Land and Water Information System
 ISSOM– Integrated Soda and Ash Synthetic Oils Manufacture
 MHTESTD– Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology

Development
 NOIC– National oil and Infrastructure Company
 QGIS– Quantum Geographic Information System
 RDBMS– Relational Database Management System
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 RDC– Rural District Council
 SASOL– South Africa Synthetic Oil Liquid
 SG– Special Grant/Surveyor General
 SOP– Standard Operating Procedures
 SHEQ– Safety Health Environment and Quality
 TIR– Thermal Infrared
 USGS– United States Geological Survey
 UZ –University of Zimbabwe
 UAV– Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
 VE –Verify Engineering
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ENDORSEMENTS..................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... iii
List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................. v
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction to the organisation of placement ........................................................................... 1
1.1 History of the organization .......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Vision .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Mission Statement ....................................................................................................... 1
1.4 Overall Goal ................................................................................................................ 2
1.5 Corporate Motto .......................................................................................................... 2
1.6 Corporate Values ......................................................................................................... 2
1.7 Core Business .............................................................................................................. 2
1.8 Location ....................................................................................................................... 2
1.9 Company Activities ..................................................................................................... 3
1.9.1 Coal to Liquid Fuels and Chemicals (CTX) ........................................................ 4
1.9.2 Coal to Fertilizer (CTF) ....................................................................................... 4
1.9.3 Medical and Industrial Gases ............................................................................... 4
1.9.4 50MW Solar PV Power Plant .............................................................................. 4
1.9.5 600MW Thermal Power Plant ............................................................................. 4
1.9.6 18MW Universities Solar PV Power Plants ........................................................ 4
1.9.7 Iron and Steel production ..................................................................................... 5
1.10 Services and Products.................................................................................................. 5
1.11 Organizational structure .............................................................................................. 5
1.11 The department to which the student was attached within the organization. .............. 6
CHAPTER 2 .............................................................................................................................. 8
2.1 The objectives of the attachment ................................................................................. 8
2.2 Geographic Information System Department ............................................................. 9
2.3 Breakdown of the GIS Work Undertaken During the Placement. ............................ 11
2.3.1 Set up of a GIS Department ............................................................................... 11
2.3.2 Spatial Data Collection and input into the Geographic Information System..... 14
2.3.3 Cartographic, Geo-visualisation and Web Mapping Duties. ............................. 17
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2.3.4 Land Surface area and Perimeter calculation of all SGs.................................... 19

2.3.5 Design, Creation and Administration of a GeoDatabase. .................................. 20
2.3.6 Formulate and compiling of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and
guidelines for the department. .......................................................................................... 21
2.3.7 GIS induction and awareness on the application of GIS in the company’s
business. 21
2.3.8 Conducted special projects and studies.............................................................. 22
2.3.9 Field work and other assignments. .......................................................................... 32
2.3.7 Produced daily, weekly, monthly and annual reports. ....................................... 32
CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................. 34
3.1 Challenges ...................................................................................................................... 34
3.1.1 Lack of Equipment and Software ...................................................................... 34
3.1.2 Field visits .......................................................................................................... 34
3.1.3 Slow Internet ...................................................................................................... 34
3.1.4 Lack of protective clothing ................................................................................ 35
3.2 Lessons Learnt................................................................................................................ 35
3.2.1 Formulation and set up of a GIS department ..................................................... 35
3.2.2 Compilation of SOPs for a GIS department ...................................................... 35
3.2.3 Data collection ................................................................................................... 35
3.2.4 Using Smartphone for GPS operations .............................................................. 35
3.2.5 Digitizing ........................................................................................................... 36
3.2.6 Georeferencing ................................................................................................... 36
3.2.7 Band composite and image enhancement .......................................................... 36
3.2.8 Band rationing and Image classification ............................................................ 36
3.2.9 Google earth ....................................................................................................... 37
3.2.10 Map layout creation ........................................................................................... 37
3.2.11 Business Communication skills ......................................................................... 37
3.2.12 Time Management ............................................................................................. 38
3.2.13 Teamwork .............................................................................................................. 38
3.3 Suggestions for Improving Industrial Attachment .................................................... 38
CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................... 39
Conclusions and recommendations.......................................................................................... 39
4.1 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 39
Recommendation ..................................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Recommendations to University of Zimbabwe .............................................................. 39
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4.2.1 Field work and seminars .......................................................................................... 40

4.2.2 Trips to relevant industries ...................................................................................... 40
4.2.3 Regular visits by college officials ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3 Recommendations to VE ................................................................................................ 40
4.3.1 Students field work and ground truthing be increased....................................... 40
4.3.2 Fully well equip the GIS Department. ............................................................... 40
4.3.3 Fire Modelling. .................................................................................................. 41
4.3.4 Storage of Data and security of GIS Information .............................................. 41
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 42
Appendix A: Verify Engineering Geographic Information System (GIS) Department
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ................................................................................... 43
Appendix B: Manhize Iron and Steel maps ............................................................................. 47
Appendix C: CTF Feasibility study maps ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix D: Thermal Feasibility study maps ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix E: State Universities Solar PV grid connected projects .......................................... 48
Appendix DE:Universities grid connected solar projects ......................................................... 49
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: VE Head Office location ............................................................................................ 3

Figure 2: VE Main projects areas of interest ............................................................................. 3
Figure 3: Company Organ gram ................................................................................................ 6
Figure 4: GIS Department adopted organ gram ......................................................................... 7
Figure 5: GIS Organ gram ....................................................................................................... 12
Figure 6: Coal exploration boreholes in Lusulu ...................................................................... 15
Figure 7: Manhize Settlements ................................................................................................ 18
Figure 8: Lusulu SG Land cover ............................................................................................. 19
Figure 9: Lusulu CTX PostgreSQL Geodatabase .................................................................... 20
Figure 11: VE Lusulu Coal SG ................................................................................................ 22
Figure 12 : Lusulu area calculation .......................................................................................... 23
Figure 13: Lusulu SG Base maps............................................................................................. 24
Figure 14: Lusulu DEM derivative maps................................................................................. 25
Figure 15: Zimbabwe road network map ................................................................................. 26
Figure 16: Zimbabwe rail network .......................................................................................... 26
Figure 17: Lusulu CTX possible water source and water drawing points ............................... 27
Figure 18: Coal resources availability ..................................................................................... 28
Figure 19: Zimbabwe power grid ............................................................................................ 29
Figure 20: Possible power connection points .......................................................................... 29
Figure 21: VE Mkwasine CTF project..................................................................................... 30
Figure 13: Lusulu SG Base maps............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
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CHAPTER ONE
Introduction to the organisation of placement
This gave an overview of the organization, geographical location, outlining the historical
development of Verify Engineering (VE), company’s vision and mission statement, business,
the core business and values and the organisation structure.
1.1 History of the organization
VE is a technology development parastatal company operating under the purview of Ministry

of Higher and Tertiary Education Science and Technology Development (MHTESTD)
mandated to carry out research and development (R & D) projects in critical areas and to
create efficient technology-based companies which feed new ideas as well as opportunities
into the economy.
The company was formed and registered as a private company in June 2004 and commenced
operations in April 2005. This was after the completion of a feasibility study aimed at
enabling the country to produce its own liquid fuels, and hence become self reliant in national
fuel requirements. At its inception it was given the mandate to manage the implementation of
the Integrated Soda and Ash Synthetic Oils Manufacture (ISSOM) Project Pilot Phase.
1.2 Vision
National sufficiency in liquid fuels and related products through science and technology
based research and development by 2025
1.3 Mission Statement
To provide research capacity for proving the efficacy of selected technologies, develop
processes and infrastructure for the beneficiation and value addition of coal, coal-bed-
methane and other locally available renewable resources for local production of fuels and
related products.
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1.4 Overall Goal
To research, design, construct and run coal to liquid CTL fuels pilot plants as a precursor to
the establishment of commercial plants using the selected commercially viable technologies
starting with the Fischer Tropsch process by 2025.
1.5 Corporate Motto

There is no royal road to science and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its
steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.
1.6 Corporate Values
1.6.1 Safety
1.6.2 Engagement
1.6.3 Reliability
1.6.4 Innovation
1.7 Core Business
The company’s core business is to carry out research and development (R & D) projects in
critical areas and to create efficient technology-based companies which feed new ideas as
well as opportunities into the economy.
1.8 Location
Verify Engineering (Pvt) Ltd head office is located on 4th floor Beverly Court Building,
Corner Nelson Mandela and Simon Muzenda Street, Harare. The company has properties and
interests in Lusulu, Mkwasine, Mutare, Manhize and the following six state universities;
Gwanda State University, Lupane State University, Manicaland State University of Applied
Sciences, Pan-African Mineral University and Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences
and Technology.
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Figure 1: VE Head Office location
Figure 2: VE Main projects areas of interest
1.9 Company Activities
The company is engaged with the following projects:
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1.9.1 Coal to Liquid Fuels and Chemicals (CTX)
The company has done feasibility studies on the above project. The project was accepted by
the government and awarded national project status. It is to be located at its Lusulu 19 793.5
hac coal SG in Binga. The company aims to use SASOL’s Fischer Tropsch technology for
this project producing 8m litres per day of liquid fuels.
1.9.2 Coal to Fertilizer (CTF)
The CTF project is aimed at improving the country’s food security through production of
fertilizers. The CTF plant will be located at Mkwasine, Chiredzi where the company has a 39
060.5 hac coal SG. Feasibility studies were done and completed. Production is scheduled to
commence once funding is secured. The project was also awarded national project status.
1.9.3 Medical and Industrial Gases
The company set up an Air Separation Unit (ASU) and Acetylene plant at Feruka in Mutare
for the production of medical and industrial gases. The study was completed in 2017 and the
project is to be commissioned after some final touches have been finished.
1.9.4 50MW Solar PV Power Plant
In line with introducing and promoting renewable sources of energy, the company has
concluded feasibility studies on a 50MW Solar PV Power plant to be located at the Mwenezi-
Chiredzi high solar radiance zone.
1.9.5 600MW Thermal Power Plant
To meet the huge power demands for fertilizer production at Mkwasine Chiredzi, the
company is setting up a 600MW Thermal Power plant at its Mkwasine Coal SG.
1.9.6 18MW Universities Solar PV Power Plants
In line with the concept of smart cities, establishing industrial parks and university cities, the
company is in the process of setting up 18MW Solar PV Power plants at the following five
state universities; Gwanda State University, Lupane State University, Manicaland State
University of Applied Sciences, Pan-African Mineral University and Marondera University
of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.
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1.9.7 Iron and Steel production
The company has ambitions in the iron and steel manufacturing industry for the production
of agricultural implements and equipment. The project is to be located at Manhize Mwanesi
Iron Range. This project is still at the formulation stage and the company is still in the
process of acquiring the iron ore special grant in the Manhize measuring 22 557.5 hectares.
1.10 Services and Products
The company’s projects when operational are expected to produce the following:
1.10.1 Eight million litres per day of liquid fuels from the CTX
1.10.2 250 000 ton/annum of ammonium fertiliser
1.10.3 230 000 tons/year of urea fertiliser
1.10.4 158MW from Solar
1.10.5 600MW from Thermal Power
1.10.6 16.5 ton/day liquid oxygen (LOX)
1.10.7 30 ton/day gaseous oxygen (GOX)
1.10.8 2.5 ton/day liquid nitrogen (LIN)
1.10.9 2.5 ton/day acetylene
1.10.10 1.4 ton/year of billets
1.10.11 1.6 ton/year of bars
1.10.12 2.6 ton/year of wire coils
1.11 Organizational structure
VE (Pvt) Ltd is headed by a Board of Directors which has a Chief Executive Officer who
manages the day to day activities of the company. Below the CEO there are four functional
departments i.e. Administration, Finance, Technical Services and Audit and Quality
Assurance as depicted in figure 3 below.
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Board of Directors
Chief Executive Officer
Company
General Manager Technical Technical Audit & Quality
Secretary/Finance Administration Manager
Services Assurance Manager
Manager
Site Administrator
Engineering Manager
Production Plant
Electrical &
Instrumentation Site Administrator Mine
Manager
Technical Services
Manager
Chemical Services
Manager
Production Manager
Geographic Information
System Manager
Figure 3: Company Organ gram
1.11 The department to which the student was attached within the organization.
The student was attached under the GIS Department which was established under the
Technical Services. The department’s was created after realizing the importance and growing
need for Geoint services in its R & D, feasibility studies and in making spatially based
decision. Prior the company used to outsource the services but with the increasing demands
and growing number of its projects that included mapping of its SGs, surface area
calculations, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its projects, site suitability
selection and the need to have a GeoDatabase of its coal resources the department was set.
The student contributed greatly in demonstrating the importance of GIS/GEOINT and
convincing management on the set up of the department, crafting of the department’s roles
and spelling out personnel duties and responsibilities. The adopted GIS Department organ
gram is as shown below:
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Overall head for

GMTS
technical depts
GIS Manager reporting

GIS Manager
to GMTS
GIS Engineer reporting GIS Engineer

to GIS Manager
GIS Analyst and GIS

GIS IT and Remote GeoDatabase GeoVisualisation,
Sensing Technician Management System Cartographer and
Administrator Web GIS Technician
Figure 4: GIS Department adopted organ gram
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CHAPTER 2
Chapter one of the report introduced the place of attachment, the business environment,
activities and the department under which the student was attached. In this chapter the report
covered the objectives of the attachment, duties of the GIS department to which the student
was attached and GIS tasks which the attaché undertook or got involved in during the twelve-
month attachment period. The attaché worked under and reported to the Technical Services
Manager for the whole period as a GIS manager is yet to be recruited to head the department.
2.1 The objectives of the attachment

University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Science introduced the mandatory attachment programme
in its learning curriculum during the Level III study period so as to give the students a chance
to apply and combine the theoretical knowledge with practical skills in the real job
environment, with all the attendant challenges and responsibilities. The student is required to
go for attachment over two semesters for at least 9 months. After completing the industrial
attachment the student is expected to compile a report. The following are the objectives of the
industrial attachment;
2.1.1. To give the student an opportunity to be acquainted with the various operational
procedures in a working industrial environment thereby developing skills necessary in multi-
operational organizations.
2.1.2. To enable the student to gain practical experience under industrial supervision, so as
to reflect on the theory leant and try to solve spatial related practical problems.
2.1.3. To give the student an opportunity to engage in supervisory roles, so as to test the
student’s managerial potential.
2.1.4. To give the student an opportunity to work with others, value team effort and learn
that other people are essential if objectives of an organization are to be met.
2.1.5. To apply and appreciate the role and importance of GEOINT in the Coal to Liquid
Fuels and Coal to Fertiliser research process.
2.1.6. To create and manage a coal resources spatial database management system.
2.1.7. To give the student an opportunity to teach GIS/GEOINT related subjects to VE staff
(Capacity building).
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2.1.8. To give the student an opportunity to have field visits, update maps and prepare field
reports.
2.1.9. Application of GEOINT techniques in site suitability selection for CTL, CTX, Solar
PV and Thermal Power Plant sites
2.2 Geographic Information System Department
The student was attached to the Geographic Information System (GIS) Department for the
whole duration of the attachment (12 months). The primary role for this department is to
capture, store, manage, manipulate, analyse and present all spatial data for the company’s
areas of interest across the country supporting the company’s research and development (R
& D) projects in new technologies that can result in the creation of efficient technology-based
companies which feed new ideas as well as opportunities into the economy. The key results
areas for the department are as follows;
a. Data collection and input into the GIS.

b. Mapping of all company special grants (SGs) and project sites.
c. Conduct of non title surveys for company SGs and project sites.
d. Design, creation and administration of a GeoDatabase.
e. Formulate and compiling standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for
the department.
f. Ensures the quality of field data, take part in field checks and control
assessments and make recommendations on how to further improve the quality of
data.
g. Topographical survey and production of detailed maps of company SGs.
h. Storage, management, manipulation, analysis and presentation of spatial data for

new projects feasibility studies.
i. Define and select data, inventory tools, GIS equipment and material needed.
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j. Make recommendations in areas of expertise, such as remote sensing, UAV/Drone

technology, GIS and resource inventory.
k. Use modern very high resolution remote sensing technologies (hyperspectral) such
as UAVs in land assessment, evaluation and zoning of land for land management
purposes.
l. Suitability site selection and least cost route alignments for projects infrastructure
development.
m. Thermal Infrared (TIR) survey for monitoring of coal mine fire and other high fire
risk infrastructure/installations and set up of Fire Information System (FIS).
n. Air and water quality monitoring in support of SHEQ programmes.
o. Overburden and excavation measurement.
p. Erosion, siltation and reservoir sedimentation assessment in support of SHEQ

programmes.
q. Land reclamation, environmental management planning and monitoring of

opencast mining projects.
r. Coalfields Land use and or Vegetation cover monitoring.
s. Processes and interprets imagery/aerial photos for detection of ferrous minerals

and map updating activities.
t. Give presentations on application of GIS in the company’s activities.
u. Co-ordinates title surveys for SGs and production of detailed maps of project sites.
v. Originate, maintain GIS periodical and routine reports, records, correspondences

and maps for all planning and work.
w. Conducts special projects and studies and quality control of all cartographic
products.
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x. Acts as a liaison with other agencies, organisations, and employees to coordinate

GIS programmes and as a technical consultant and liaison with industry and
government bodies.
2.3 Breakdown of the GIS Work Undertaken During the Placement.
This section provides a breakdown of technical GIS work which was undertaken during the
industrial attachment.
2.3.1 Set up of a GIS Department
The student was responsible for the identification and crafting of a GIS department which
meets the GIS needs and requirements of the company. This involved identification of the
GIS requirements for the company, a study of possible GIS establishments and organogram
that effectively and efficiently answer the strategic, tactical and operational requirements of a
Research and Development Company into new technologies. Sequel was identification of
GIS equipment and software for purchase, the selection of the satisfying structure,
identification and formulation of the duties and responsibilities of staff and crafting of the
SOPs and guidelines.
2.3.1.1 Identification of the GIS Requirements of the Company
The student started by identifying the company’s GIS requirement in line with its core
business. The requirements centred on the need for easily accessible standard spatial
data for the production of spatial information to aid evidence based decision making.
This required the identification, location, acquisition, storage, management,
manipulation and presentation of such data. The GIS requirements for the company
were summarised as follows:
2.3.1.1.1 Spatial Data Collection

2.3.1.1.2 Cartography, GeoVisualisation and Web mapping
2.3.1.1.3 Surface area calculation of all SGs.
2.3.1.1.4 Design, creation and administration of a GeoDatabase.
2.3.1.1.5 Formulate and compiling of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and
guidelines for the department.
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2.3.1.1.6 Awareness on the application and capabilities of GIS in the company’s

business.
2.3.1.1.7 Other customized Geoint products.
From the above requirements the student came up with the roles and function of the
GIS Department which have been summarised in paragraph 2.2 and detailed in the
SOPs at Appendix A.
2.3.1.2 Identification and Formulation of the Department
After identifying the GIS requirements of the organisation and formulating the roles
and functions of the GIS Department, the student carried out a review of possible GIS
department structures and set up that adequately answer and meet the requirements of
VE. The company has interests in various parts of the country centred on coal and
iron based projects and renewable energy sources. Therefore the ideal set should
answer the cartographic, mineral exploration and database requirements to aid spatial
evidence based decision making. The student therefore proposed the below set up
which has since been approved and adopted.
Figure 5: GIS Organ gram
2.3.1.3 Description of duties and responsibilities of members
After the identification of the GIS requirements of the company and selection of the
satisfying structure, the student came up with the duties and responsibilities of
members of the department as contained in the SOPs at Appendix A to this report.
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2.3.1.4 Identification of Equipment and Software for the Department
The student identified and came up with a list of the equipment, software and hardware
required for the GIS department by task/function.
2.3.1.4.1 Remote Sensing and Data Capturing equipment and software

• 1 x Mapping Drone
• WAAS/EGNOS enabled 2 x GPS receivers
• 1 x GNSS RTK Base
• 1 x Scanner
• 2 x Ruggedised GPS enabled tablets
• 2 x Ruggedised core i7 laptops
• 1 x Digital camera
• 1 x Field power supply set
• 32G flash drive
2.3.1.4.2 Data Storage, Management, Manipulation and Analysis

• 1 x GIS Workstation. A GIS workstation has a multi-core processing
CPU, large RAM (8-16G), at least 1TB hard disk drives and graphics
card for 3D geovisualisation.
• MapInfo.
• ArcGIS
• High speed internet with at least 2MB download
2.3.1.4.3 Spatial Data Display and Presentation

• Projector
• Interactive board
• 72 Inch screen
• Plotter and roll paper
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2.3.1.5 Formulate and compiling of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and

In order to further stream line and give guidance to the overall functioning and standards of
the Department the student formulated and compiled SOPs for the department. SOPs refer to
a set of written instructions of protocols or worksheet that document a routine or repetitive
activity followed by an institution (Yeung & Hall, 2007). SOPs are an integral part of a
quality system as they provide information to do a series of jobs properly, and facilitate the
consistency of quality and integrity of a product from the beginning to the end result. They
also document the way activities are to be undertaken in a consistent way to support data
quality. The development and use of SOPs can minimize variation and promote quality
through consistent implementation of a process or procedure within the organization, even if
there are temporary or permanent personnel changes (EPA, 2007).
The use of SOPs in fieldwork makes the job more effective and efficient. Team leader and
field crew can synergize better in the field to achieve maximum fieldwork results. Clear
SOPs provide the assurance of the workflow in the field so that it will not confuse the
implementers in the field. The SOPs are at Appendix A to this report.
2.3.2 Spatial Data Collection and input into the Geographic Information System.
VE did not have a GIS department and therefore did not have any spatial database, the
student had to start to collect the data and input it into a spatial database. As a result, the
student used and was exposed to various forms of spatial data collection from both primary
and secondary spatial data sources. Some of the data collection methods he used were as
follows;
2.3.2.1 Coal Exploration Data from Coal Publications
Coal publications are secondary sources of spatial data. These were retrieved from the
company records, Geological Survey of Zimbabwe (GSZ) and the Surveyor General
(SG). The company’s coal related business is based in Lusulu and Mkwasine where it
intends to set up CTX and CTF plants respectively. Most of the coal exploration in these
two areas was done in the late 1970s and early 1980s contained in MRS 19 and Shell
Developments Zimbabwe publications (Palloks, 1984). The student had to extract the
necessary data from the above publication and input into a GIS. Most of the data was in
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Polar coordinates and MGRS. From the company records the student extracted the
coordinates of the allocated SGs and converted them from Polar to Cartesian. This was
required to calculate the surface area and plot the polygons representing the boundaries of
the SGs. The student had to convert the data to UTM zones 35S and 36S according to the
site location for the project. Most of the maps were analogue and the student scanned and
georeferenced these using QGIS. The student also extracted coordinates for coal
exploration boreholes containing various attribute data into excel and then saved as ‘csv’
for input in a GIS. This was done to enable management to geovisualise the area that was
explored and the distribution and pattern formed by the exploration boreholes in Lusulu
and Mkwasine. This was critical as prior management did not have an appreciation of
where exploration was done within the company SGs and where it was still to be done.
The resultant maps are as shown below.
Figure 6: Coal exploration boreholes in Lusulu
2.3.2.2 Data Collection using GPS
A GPS is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of satellites. The

system is used for tracking, mapping, determine location, and also to bring precise time to
the world. At VE the GPS is mainly used for navigation, mapping and ground truthing
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allocated SGs and identified mineral deposit areas to be applied for from government for
allocation as SGs.
The student collected data using GPS and was involved in SGs boundary verification
exercise of VE Manhize Iron Deposit, VE Chivhu city and Lusulu Coal SG. The student
collected waypoints and tracks using a GPS and later loaded the data into QGIS software
and converted it into shapefile to come out with the proposed boundary for VE’s Manhize
Iron Deposit SG, VE proposed residential area for workers in Chivhu and Lusulu SG
showing the area occupied by Chirisa Safari which has a boundary that cuts through the
coal SG. The proposed new boundary was required by Chikomba RDC and ministry of
mines to gazette VE SGs. The student also used GPS in mining blocks area measurement
and in determining the boundaries of blocks. The student was also involved in ground
truthing of the company SGs maps. The GPS was used for navigation to the sample
blocks and points.
2.3.2.3 Raster Data Collection from Remotely Sensed images.
The student downloaded the following data from US Glovis and USGS earth explorer.
a. Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2 images. The images were used to identify ferrous
minerals (Ciampalini, et al., 2013; Solutions, 2019) and classify the land use and land
cover in the SGs. The output ferrous minerals identification products were used in
verification of the existence of iron ore deposits at Manhize and the output settlements
and land cover classes were used as products for EIA, ESIA and EMP. The produced
GEOINT products from the processed images are shown at Appendix C.
b. SRTM 30m and Aster 30m resolution DEM. The student used DEM to extract
contour lines which he used during map making. The DEM was also used for the
generation of slope, terrain ruggedness, aspect, hill shade, river and wetness maps for
Mkwasine, Lusulu and Manhize SGs for suitability site selection for location of the
production plants and Coal Fire Hazard Modelling.
2.3.2.4 Vector Data Collection from Google Satellite and BING Aerial
The student digitized shapefiles from Google satellite and BING Aerial as part of data
collection during his attachment period. The data from Google Satellite was digitized as
KML files and was then loaded into QGIS and converted into shapefiles. The student
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managed to digitise the settlers’ homesteads, roads, rivers, dams and mining blocks
boundaries.
Bing Aerial with labels was used for mapping individual homesteads and built up areas
within the Manhize and Lusulu SGs. The data was required for geo-visualisation of the
size of the iron ore deposit and coal deposit areas occupied by settlements to be relocated.
It was also needed for ESIA planning, costing and budgeting for the capital requirements
for the relocation. The student assisted in identifying potential areas where the locals
could be resettled through remotely sensed images. The information was required by
ministries of lands, agriculture water and climate and local government.
2.3.3 Cartographic, Geo-visualisation and Web Mapping Duties.
After having obtained all the individual attributes and characters of a specific place, a spatial
diagrammatic representation was needed to show the physical features in a simpler and visual
way. This representation is a map. Map making was one of the major duties done by the
student throughout the industrial attachment period using free open source software mostly
QGIS and ILWIS. In mining and feasibility studies a lot of changes occur frequently hence
the need to frequently update the maps. Some of the maps which were made by the student
during the period are as follows.
2.3.3.1 Base maps
After collecting the spatial data there was need for a graphic representation at a
specified scale of selected fundamental spatial information which can be used as a
framework upon which additional data of a specialized nature may be compiled. This
graphic representation of essential spatial data is a basemap. The function of the
basemap is to provide background detail necessary for further planning and creation
of specialised GEOINT products. Base maps for both natural and human made
features were required to give a graphic visualisation of the existing infrastructure in
the company’s SGs. The student composed base maps for all the SGs showing rivers,
dams, settlements, intra-boundaries, roads, rail and power lines. One of the sample
base maps the student produced from BING Aerial images for settlements at Manhize
is in Figure 7 below. The rest of the base maps are shown at Appendices B to E.
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Figure 7: Manhize Settlements
2.3.3.2 Landcover and use maps
Landcover and land use are key considerations in determining land availability in
location based developmental decision making. Landcover classification and land use
provides information on type of land cover and the types of human activity involved
on the landscape (Giri, 2016). It may also facilitate the assessment of environmental
impacts on and potential or alternative uses of land. Landcover and land use maps
were necessary for determining availability of land and conducting EIA and ESIA of
the projects in the designated project areas. Therefore the student produced the
landcover and landuse maps and statistical summaries for the SGs. This was done
using Landsat OLI and Sentinel 2 images in QGIS. One of the landcover maps which
were produced by the student is shown at fig 8.
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Figure 8: Lusulu SG Land cover
2.3.3.3 Web Maps
VE has a mandate to source for investors and create joint venture companies with
investors across the globe. In order to afford world wide access of the company land
and mineral resources, the student had to produce web maps for the company’s SGs.
This was done using qgiscloud riding on the advantages of FOSS. The resulting
maps were to be accessed from the company website by a href html link and one of
the base maps is available at https://qgiscloud.com/Timbee/Binga_Lusulu
2.3.4 Land Surface area and Perimeter calculation of all SGs.
Minerals are quantified according to the surface area of the SG or mining concessions. As
such after extracting the coordinates and drawing the boundaries of the respective SGs, the
student had to calculate the surface areas. For the estimated quantity of resources the student
used mathematical proportions after calculating the surface areas. For example, Lusulu
coalfield according to BP Shell Developments (1984) measuring 370km2 is estimated to have
1.9bn tonnes of coal. The company’s coal SG measures approximately 200km2 and one third
of it does not have coal. Accordingly the company can plan with estimated 685m tonnes of
coal. The area and perimeters were also required for other subsequent GIS tasks. Perimeter
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was required for the beaconing of the SGs to estimate the number of beacons that could be
erected around the SGs or the length of security fence.
2.3.5 Design, Creation and Administration of a GeoDatabase.
Having collected and mapped all the spatial data and its attributes, a compact and convenient
way of storing, managing, querying the data and analysis was required. This compact and
convenient way is a geodatabase which is a collection of large geographic datasets of various
types held in a common file system folder, and examples include a Microsoft Access
database, or a multiuser relational DBMS such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server,
PostgreSQL, Informix, or IBM DB2 (Yeung & Hall, 2007). The student used PostgreSQL
because of its advantage of being a FOSS. A PostgreSQL vector geodatabase linked to QGIS
was designed for the Lusulu CTX project which uses tables accessed through PGAdmin III as
shown in figure 9.
Figure 9: Lusulu CTX PostgreSQL Geodatabase
The geodatabase has a comprehensive information model for representing and managing
geographic information. This comprehensive information model is implemented as a series of
tables holding feature classes, vector datasets, and attributes with rules for managing spatial
integrity; and tools for working with numerous spatial relationships of the core features,
vectors, and attributes.
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2.3.6 Formulate and compiling of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and

In order to streamline, standardise and ensure consistency in the acquisition, storage,

manipulation and analysis of the data, function of the department and each member staff’s
duties and responsibilities, the student compiled SOPs for the department. SOPs refer to a set
of written instructions of protocols or worksheet that document a routine or repetitive activity
followed by an institution (Holdstock, 2016). SOPs are an integral part of a quality system as
they provide information to do a series of jobs properly, and facilitate the consistency of
quality and integrity of a product from the beginning to the end result. (Holdstock, 2016).
The SOPs cover all aspects of handling GIS information, equipment and software within the
company. The sections covered are as indicated below and a detailed copy of the SOPs is at
Appendix A:
2.3.6.1 Introduction or Preamble

2.3.6.2 GIS Roles, Organisational Structure and Responsibilities
2.3.6.3 GIS Environment, Types of Data and Data Format
2.3.6.4 Hardware and Software
2.3.6.5 Coordinate Reference System
2.3.6.6 Geodatabase Management
2.3.6.7 Fieldwork
2.3.6.8 GIS Equipment Management
2.3.7 GIS induction and awareness on the application of GIS in the company’s
business.
The student managed to give presentations to top management on basic GIS concepts and
application in all the company’s mining and processing projects. Some of the topics which
were covered include; basic data formats, coordinate system, georeferencing, application of
GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing in coal and iron ore mining just to mention a few. On the
practical work the following were covered; georeferencing scanned analogue maps in QGIS
and digitised points, lines and polygons. SHEQ student who worked close with GIS was also
taught to digitize on google earth, thus she digitized line data (roads, rivers and tracks) in
Mkwasine, after which she composed a landuse map using QGIS software.
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2.3.8 Conducted special projects and studies.
Apart from the above, the student participated fully in the conduct of feasibility studies for
CTX, CTF, Iron and Steel, Solar Power Plants, Thermal Power Plant and state universities 18
MW Solar PV power stations during the industrial attachment. Work done as part of the CTX
project feasibility study will be outlined in detail while for the others a summary will be
outlined in this report.
2.3.8.1 Lusulu CTX Project
The Lusulu CTX project is the company’s flagship project which was granted national
project status. The project plant located at Lusulu in Binga District is designed to
produce 8m litres of liquid fuels and chemicals per days using SASOL Fischer
Tropsch technology. The student was specifically tasked to work on the site
description to meet the investors’ specifications for a bankable feasibility study. To
that end he first extracted the coordinates for the company’s coal SG from the
company documents and produced the polygon showing the boundaries of the SG
within the Bulawayo/Gweru Mining District and the national boundaries as shown in
figure 11 below.
Figure 10: VE Lusulu Coal SG
Sequel to that the student did a land surface area calculation using Microsoft excel to
ascertain the physical size of the SG. The land surface area of the SG was calculated
as shown below.
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Figure 11 : Lusulu area calculation
The surface area calculation was required for the sourcing of quotations for beaconing
and title survey. The results gave management an appreciation of the size of the SG
versus the area requirements for the plant and all ancillary works.
2.3.8.1.1 Base maps
To aid evidence based decision making and compilation of the feasibility

study on the CTX project, the student produced base maps that were to answer
the information gaps needed to meet investors’ expectations. The prime base
map layers showed boundaries, roads, rivers, settlements, landcover and
NDVI. A collage of these is shown in figure 13. The river map was derived
from SRTM 30 DEM using ILWIS GIS while the other base maps were
derived from Google satellite, BING aerial, Landsat OLI and Sentinel 2
remotely sensed images using QGIS.
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Figure 12: Lusulu SG Base maps
2.3.8.1.2 Terrain Models
For the civil engineering work and infrastructure development, the student
processed ASTER 30m DEM to produce GEOINT terrain models using QGIS
and ILWIS GIS that include; slope, aspect, hillshade, terrain ruggedness index
and wetness index. TWI calculates the ratio of the natural log of the specific
catchment area to slope, ln(a/S), or ln(a/tan (beta)). This provides an indication
of depth to water table and is an indicator that measures the potential of where
water tend to accumulate, high index value indicates high potential of water
accumulated due to low slope. No data values occur in locations where slope
is 0 i.e. flat (Wilson, 2018). The plant requires dry hard standing ground with
low TWI below 15. The DEM was therefore processed and the wetness index
map sliced into three classes; dry<15, moist<20 and wet>20. These GEOINT
products are shown in figure 14.
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Figure 13: Lusulu DEM derivative maps
2.3.8.1.3 Transport and Communication maps
The project at full capacity utilisation will produce 8 million litres of liquid
fuels per day. Zimbabwe’s current liquid daily fuels consumption is at around
4 million litres. This means half of the daily production at the current domestic
demand will be exported while the other will be distributed locally. The
projected mode of transport is by road and rail. As such the student digitised
major roads and rail lines that connect mostly to ports of exit, towns and cities
from remotely sensed images in QGIS. The same will be used for bulk
delivery of the plant machinery which is to be imported. The road and rail
maps are depicted in figures 15 and 16.
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Figure 14: Zimbabwe road network map
The company intends to have a rail connection for the bulk transportation of the
liquid fuels in the long run. As such the student digitised in QGIS the rail
network to determine the possible rail junction points where a rail line to the SG
can join into the existing rail infrastructure. The rail network map is shown at
figure 16.
Figure 15: Zimbabwe rail network
2.3.8.1.4 Hydrology and Water map
The CTX project requires approximately 64 400m3 of water per day to

produce 8 million liters of liquid fuels. To determine the possible availability
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of underground water and surface water for the project, the student used water
indices and did DEM Hydro processing using ILWIS GIS and QGIS. Landsat
OLI and Sentinel images were used to computer and identify surface water
within the SG and its proximity areas using mNDWI and … water indices in
QGIS. These were compared with DIVA GIS water sources shapefiles for the
area. Distances were also calculated from the proposed plant site to all the
possible water sources pumping point. The final map is shown in figure 17.
Figure 16: Lusulu CTX possible water source and water drawing points
2.3.8.1.5 Coal Resources map
The CTX process of the proposed plant will utilize coal as the major raw
material. VE has a coal SG in Lusulu, Binga that lies within the
Bulawayo/Gweru Mining District measuring 20,000 hectares. The CTX plant
will be co-located with the coal feedstock at the SG. The coal resources
needed to be quantified in order to determine the viability of the project and
life span. As such the student extracted coal resources availability data from
secondary sources showing coal exploration boreholes and mapped this using
QGIS to visually represent the results. The coal availability within the SG is
based on a 10km extrapolation from the drilled coal exploration boreholes as
shown in figure below.
The coal exploration boreholes data was used to estimate the amount of coal
within the SG. Lusulu coalfield measuring approximately 370km2 and is
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estimated to have 1.9bn tonnes of coal (Palloks, 1984) while VE’s Lusulu coal
SG measures approximately 200km2 and one third of it does not have coal.
Therefore using spatial statistics and mathematical operators VE’s Lusulu coal
SG has approximately 685m tonnes of coal.
Figure 17: Coal resources availability
2.3.8.1.6 Power Supply and Connection map
The CTX plant has 5 distinct modules that require about 50MW including
power requirements for domestic use for staff and other ancillary works. The
plant when operational has capacity to generate electrical power as well which
will be fed into the national grid. The student as such digitised 122kv, 133kv,
330kv and 400kv power lines and overlaid these together with the SG layer,
proposed plant site layer and the Zimbabwe boundary layer to get
measurements of the nearest possible power connection points from and into
the national grid. The resultant maps are shown in figures 18 and 19.
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Figure 18: Zimbabwe power grid
Figure 19: Possible power connection points
2.3.8.2 Mkwasine CTF and Thermal Power Project
The company has another national project status coal feedstock based CTF project
which it is just concluded a bankable feasibility study for. The project is expected to
produce around 250,000 tons/year of ammonium nitrate and 230,000 tons/year urea
fertiliser and LPG. The plant will have capacity to generate electrical power which
will be also fed into the national grid. It will be located in Mkwasine where the
company has a 39 000 hectares coal SG in the Save-Limpopo coal basin (Barber,
1987).
On the same site the company indents to set up a 600MW thermal power plant that
will generate power for the CTF project. The two plants require huge amounts of
water and the student did satellite rainfall estimates to estimate if the catchment
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receives enough rainfall that can support the projects. The data was downloaded from
CHIRPS and calculated using QGIS raster calculator.
Figure 20: VE Mkwasine CTF project
The student assisted in the design and creation of a geodatabase and compilation of
chapter two of the site description for the CTF and 600MW Thermal power project
which comprises of the site location map, road and rail communication infrastructure
map, water, coal exploration map, national power grid and possible power connection
points. The maps that were produced are shown at Appendix B.
2.3.8.3 Manhize Iron and Steel Project
Apart from the CTX and CTF projects, the company has a proposed Iron and Steel
project that will produces 1.4m tons/year of billets, 1.6tons/year of bars and rods and
2.6tons/year of wire coils in the Mwanesi iron deposit range which has an estimated
33 billion tons of iron ore. The company recently secured an iron ore SG at Manhize
within the Mwanesi iron deposit range where the student actively participated in the
process assisting in the extraction and drawing of the coordinates of the SG within the
reserved area and drawing the boundary polygon in a GIS and also calculating to
ascertain the surface area of the SG. The student used Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2
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images to calculate geological indices or band ratios (Solutions, 2019; Ciampalini, et

al., 2013) to detect and ascertain presence of iron ore in the area and also did the
ground truthing to ascertain the accuracy of the SG measurement and other ground
control points. The student had the opportunity during the SG application and ground
truthing to appraise the company’s Board of Directors on the importance of GIS in the
company’s projects. The list of GEOINT products the student produced to answer
chapter two of the Iron and Steel project feasibility are shown at appendix C.
2.3.8.4 State Universities Solar Projects
In line with improving the country’s electrical power generation and meeting the
Education 5.0 framework, the company came up with 18MW Solar PV Power
projects to power 5 state universities; Manicaland State University of Applied
Sciences, Marondera University of Agricultural Science, Gwanda State University,
PAN African Minerals University and Lupane State University. The Solar PV Power
plants will generate enough electricity to power the universities and the extra fed into
the national grid. The student was required to assist in the identification of possible
power connection points where the extra power will be fed into the national grid. To
that end the student produced the national power grid map and overlaid the state
universities layer to identify the nearest possible power connection points. The list of
maps produced is shown at appendix D.
2.3.8.5 Feruka ASU Fire Hazard Modelling
Feruka is the receiving bay of all National Oil and Infrastructure (NOIC) bulk fuel
imports and houses VE’s oxygen and acetylene plants. All the above fuels are highly
flammable and have a high fire danger rating. Acetylene is highly susceptible to
spontaneous ignition and explosion, petrol, oxygen and diesel easily catch and support
fire. As part of protection of critical infrastructure and assets, the student did a fire
hazard modelling for the composite facility using Sentinel 2 and SRTM 30 images.
The framework and GEOINT products are shown at appendix E
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2.3.9 Field work and other assignments.
The student was involved in several field work duties where he visited the SGs and Feruka
ASU plant. Some of the field duties he carried out during the attachment period are as listed
below;
2.3.9.1 Visited Mkwasine coal SG for ground truthing on 18-22 October 2018 and
confirmation of site selected for infrastructural development.
2.3.9.2 Visited Lusulu coal SG for ground truthing and confirmation of sites selected
for infrastructural development from 10-14 November 2018.
2.3.9.3 Visited Feruka ASU for a familiarisation tour of the plant on 11 March 2019.
2.3.6.2 Visited Mwanesi Iron Ore deposit range to conduct ground truthing of VE’s
Manhize SG before final submission of application letter for allocation of the
SG on 16 March 2019.
2.3.6.3 Attended a road show hosted by Leica Geosystems exhibiting Geomatics

equipment on 5 March 2019.
2.3.6.4 Attended the company strategy formulation meeting and management

coordination meetings
2.3.6.5 Visited ZESA GIS, Geological Survey of Zimbabwe and Surveyor General for
liaison.
2.3.6.6 Attended and participated in the interviews of students from Harare
Polytechnic for placement within the GIS department
2.3.7 Produced daily, weekly, monthly and annual reports.
The student was responsible for the production of weekly, monthly and annual reports. VE
holds regular meetings to appraise on progress on the status of departmental assignments on
the compilation and improvement of the various feasibility studies. It was the student’s
responsibility to compile the data and prepare consolidated weekly, monthly and annual
departmental report. The weekly progress report was prepared every Monday summarising all
the activities that took place during the week and presenting activities that were to be done
during the week. The monthly was prepared at the end of each month summarising all the
operations for the month and all the reports were submitted to the Technical Services
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Manager’s office. Annual reports were written at the end of the operational year summarising
all that was done during the year and highlighting on the challenges and opportunities that the
department can take advantage of. See appendix F for the sample of weekly status report.
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CHAPTER THREE
This chapter covers the challenges the student faced during the industrial attachment and how
he managed to overcome them. It also covers the lessons learnt and the suggestions by the
student on how to improve the industrial attachment.
3.1 Challenges
3.1.1 Lack of Equipment and Software
The department did not have any equipment and software to use for all its work. The student
had to use his own laptop, Smartphone and FOSS for all the departmental work. Management
promised to buy the equipment that the student identified and list upon the set up of the
department.
3.1.2 Field visits
The writer was required to produce and update maps frequently and most of the time with
very limited and inaccurate data on SGs for the company. The only effective way for the
writer to come out with an accurate map was to have a field visit, but however due to
transport problem at the department it was not possible to have the field visits frequently,
even if the opportunity to have the field visit was given the time allocated for the exercise
was very limited (one or 2 days). The student managed to overcome this problem by resorting
to use of remotely sensed data such as Sentinel 2 imagery, Landsat OLI imagery, Bing aerial
and Google earth to verify features.
3.1.3 Slow Internet
Throughout the attachment the internet was very slow and it was very difficult to download
basic GIS software for use during the attachment such as QGIS, SNAP, ILWIS and Google
Earth. He also faced the problem of downloading remotely sensed imageries such as SRTM,
Landsat OLI and Sentinel 2 for DEM hydro process, landuse land cover classification. The
writer resorted to use and ask for data from colleagues where internet was better to achieve
the task which was at hand. However, the company was has promised to upgrade its internet
package.
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3.1.4 Lack of protective clothing
The student was not provided with protective clothing despite the fact that he was exposed to
the environment which required protective clothing such as safety shoes, helmets and work
suits during field work. The student had no option except to go to the field using his own
clothing which was not safe in the field.
3.2 Lessons Learnt
GEOINT is mainly concerned with imagery intelligence, application of GIS and remote
sensing, GIS programming and web mapping, spatial data infrastructure, cartography and
geovisualisation, spatial database design and management, spatial analysis, spatial modeling,
image processing and GNSS. The student therefore learnt a lot of knowledge and on the job
skills in the following;
3.2.1 Formulation and set up of a GIS department
VE did not have any GIS department, the student work hard for the establishment of the
department from identifying the GIS requirements for the company, drawing up functions,
duties and responsibilities of the department staff. The student can now assist in the set up of
a GIS department.
3.2.2 Compilation of SOPs for a GIS department
The newly formed GIS department had no guidelines and standards, the student wrote the
SOPs after consulting various sources on the layout, wording and structure of SOPs. He is
now versed with what is covered in SOPs.
3.2.3 Data collection
VE had no any geospatial data as it did not have prior a GIS department, the student had to
collect all the data using all methods. He can now do spatial data collection with ease.
3.2.4 Using Smartphone for GPS operations
The student learnt how to capture, save and export GPS data using Smartphones and how to
create features, navigate waypoints and how to measure area in the GPS interface on the
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Smartphone. I also learnt how to upload the data (GPX files) from a GPS into QGIS software
and convert it into shapefiles.
3.2.5 Digitizing
Expertise was also acquired in digitizing using Google earth and QGIS. The student was able
to digitise roads, rivers, mining blocks boundaries, fireguards, settlements for all VE SGs and
mine sites.
3.2.6 Georeferencing
VE had no any GIS data hence any maps and the student was required to source and or
produce maps. He managed to scan analogue maps and georeferenced these for the whole
country as the company has business interests across the country. The student acquired
knowledge on map to map georeferencing using QGIS and ILWIS software. To add on, the
student learnt that the control points should be well spread out across the map, they should be
distinct points and a good overlap on two datasets is important.
3.2.7 Band composite and image enhancement
Remotely sensed data from Landsat and Sentinel 2 images are acquired in grayscale but by
combining different bands 3 or more, one can display the images in colour. Using different
band combinations to display the scene allows an image analyst to identify different features
and patterns within a scene and become more familiar with the scenes to identify landcover
such as forests, grass, water, buildings. The general explanation of the image would be that
vegetation reflects highly in the near infra-red therefore appearing red on the image. Water
reflects lowly in all wavelengths hence it appears black. Cultivation on the other hand
appears whitish; this is because they reflect in all the bands of the false colour combination.
This familiarization allowed the student to do image analysis for example during supervised
classification.
3.2.8 Band rationing and Image classification
The student learnt to process images, band rationing to do rapid and inexpensive mapping of
surface geological and mineralogical features and discriminate different land classes using
pattern, colour, texture, size and association. He is now familiar and able to perform
supervised classification using ILWIS and QGIS semi-automatic plugin without any
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difficulties. The student also learnt that ferrous minerals can be more accurately detected
using hyperspectral sensors to identify pixels rich in iron oxide using the WorldView New
Iron Index (WV-II) given by: WV-II= (Green*Yellow)/(Blue*1000)
3.2.9 Google earth
Expertise was also gained on the use of google earth which is a globe, map and a
geographical information program. The student digitized points, lines and polygons using
google earth however he leant that it inhibits spatial data analysis because it does not have the
GIS components. Vectors created are in “kml” file format, so in order to use them in a GIS,
they first have to be converted to shapefile.
3.2.10 Map layout creation
The writer also learnt how to create a map layout using ILWIS, QGIS and Arc Map. After
having obtained all the individual attributes and characters of a specific place, a map was
needed to show the physical features in a simpler and visual way. The student also learnt that
there are basic elements of a map which should not be left behind such as map title (clear
purpose), scale, legend, date of production, metadata, north arrow and standard symbology. It
is also important for a cartographer to ensure that; the map is balanced, he or she limit the
number of features to only features required to communicate a message, he or she select
colours that reflect a theme and purpose, he or she orders layers by level of importance, he or
she ensure correct map extent and that the map is accurate.
3.2.11 Business Communication skills
The student was required to attend meetings, source for quotations and to get data from other
government department and agencies to produce and update maps, prepare weekly, monthly
and field reports. On outside interactions different organisations have different values and
procedures so the student learnt how to be polite, patient and tolerant with different
characters and organisational priorities and values. He greatly improved his verbal
communication skills. It was a frightening thing consulting and telling senior company
officers such as department managers that their data was wrong, they would ask a number of
questions in a hostile manner. Such a situation helped me on how to talk nicely so that they
would understand and give me the required correct data.
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3.2.12 Time Management

Most of the work done had strict time lines to meet potential investors’ requirements, the
student learnt how to manage time wisely and completion of tasks on time in order to meet
deadlines.
3.2.13 Teamwork
The student worked with almost all departments to meet targets and learnt that for one to
meet the targets there is need for team work. For the student to meet the deadline to submit
reports and to prepare maps a combined effort within the organization’s departments was
required. If it was not a team effort with other departments he was not going to achieve what
was expected of him by his supervisor because most of the times the pressure was too much.
3.3 Suggestions for Improving Industrial Attachment
3.3.1 Regular visits or electronic check ups by college officials. The academic supervisor
should constantly visit or electronically check on the students at their respective industrial
sites, this is beneficial in checking progress between the student and the supervisor. The
student feels that if the visits or checks were to be increased to 3 or 4 times it would be more
beneficial to the student and the placement organisation.
3.3.2 The student also proposes that students must visit companies during their vacation
period in order to find out if what they have learnt during the previous semester is practically
applied by companies. This will make them understand better how it is done in real life.
3.3.3 The Faculty should introduce Industry Field Trips to both the public and private
sector before attachment, such that the students will have a feel of the practical Business
Environment before industrial attachment.
3.3.4 The student struggled to get an attachment placement though he was able to secure the
placement in time, thanks to help from the Department. Based on this the student
recommends for the establishment of an industrial hub at UZ such that students can have as
much time as possible to carry out their attachment. This could be established in partnership
with other public or private institutions which in turn may also immensely benefit from
research and development.
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CHAPTER FOUR
Conclusions and recommendations

This chapter gave the conclusion to the work related learning programme report and gave some
recommendations by the students to VE and UZ.
4.1 Conclusions
VE is appreciated for offering a well organised platform for the student to apply the
theoretical GIS concepts that were learnt during the in-class lectures and convert them into
the real world practical to solve real spatial problems. The attachment period was an
enriching adventure and experience to the student as he managed to gain vast technical
experience on how to deal with all matters relating to conduct of technology based bankable
feasibility studies and mapping. During the attachment period the student managed to gain
not technical but social and professional skills which will go a long way as the student enters
into the GIS world and industry. The student successfully managed to: collect and input
spatial data into the project resources database; perform cartographic duties; produce weekly,
monthly and annual reports and presentations on the application of GIS in mining and fire
hazard modelling. He was also involved in several map field verification exercises. The fact
that he was exposed to different aspects of project feasibility studies the student grew a strong
passion for the GIS feasibility studies and consultancy nature in general.
The writer would like to thank his supervisor Ms Linda Moyo, the CEO VE and the whole of
VE staff for their untiring guidance during the whole attachment period. Their guidance
helped the student in gaining confidence, in developing good communication skills and
developing the capacity to solve big problems at workplace. This has equipped the student
with vast knowledge and experience that he shall apply in future endeavours.
Recommendations
4.2 Recommendations to University of Zimbabwe
The student makes the following recommendations to DGES and the UZ:
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4.2.1 Field work and seminars
The college increase time on field practical and arrange seminars with GIS experts and
consultants so that students will be more conversant on the applications of GIS and Remote
Sensing in the industry.
4.2.2 Trips to relevant industries
The college fund trips which exposes students to practical issues. For example, after learning
a certain concept in GIS application, students should be exposed to real world scenarios
where they can marry theory and practical work. This also paves way for better
understanding of the concept.
4.3 Recommendations to VE
The writer recommends that;
4.3.1 Students field work and ground truthing be increased
The student greatly appreciates the effort by VE of funding field work. However, it is the
writer’s view that the institution should commit more funds for field work and ground
truthing to consolidate satellite scenes and what is actually on the ground. He further
recommends twining with other research institutions to keep up with global trends. The
satellite scenes used still require proper ground truthing to be accurate and provide accurate
information for bankable feasibility studies. The following areas should be covered as soon as
possible;
a. Title survey and beaconing of SGs.
b. Field verification of coal and iron ore deposits areas.
c. Determining the actual mineable area in the blocks and SGs.
4.3.2 Fully well equip the GIS Department.

To fully well-equipped the GIS department with purpose designed computers and appropriate
software, which the organisation can use to capitalise on the capabilities of GIS to develop more
business opportunities, in such areas as consultancy, near real time networking planning and
monitoring by connecting the office and the field using geospatial technology.
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4.3.3 Fire Modelling.

Coal is subject to spontaneous ignition which poses a great fire risk and threat. Fire modelling
need to be done for Lusulu and Mkwasine and a fire information system put in place.
4.3.4 Storage of Data and security of GIS Information

The writer recommends that VE should purchase a proper GIS work station, which will also
be used strictly by GIS staff and controlled by an administration password, while the actual
Geo-databases in the work stations can be accessed according to set of rights and privileges
for different users. This will help to maintain integrity of GIS data. Meanwhile, the
management is applauded for the initiative of maintaining a 2terabyte external hard drive,
which is used as a back-up for GIS data, a standalone GIS workstation is the most ideal.
41 | P a g e
REFERENCES
Barber, B., 1987. Records of Zimbabwe Coalfields XVI: The Save-Runde Coal Area, Save-
Limpopo Basin. Harare: Zimbabwe Geological Survey.
Giri, C. P., 2016. Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover: Principles and Applications.
London: Tylor & Francis.
Goodchild, M., Longley, P., Maguire & Rhind, D., 1991. Geographic Information Systems:
principles, techniques, management and Applications. s.l.:s.n.
Holdstock, D. A., 2016. Strategic GIS Planning and Management in Local Government.
s.l.:CRC Press.
Jensen, J., 1986. Intrroductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective.
s.l.:Prentice Hall.
Palloks, H. H., 1984. An Assessment of Some of the Coal Deposits in NW Zimbabwe: Mineral
Resources Series No 19. Harare: Zimbabwe Geological Survey.
Wilson, J. P., 2018. Environmental Applications of Digital Terrain Modeling. Oxford: Wiley
Blakwell.
Yeung, A. K. & Hall, B. G., 2007. Spatial Database System: Design, Implementation and
Project Management. Ontario: Spriner.
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Appendix A: Verify Engineering Geographic Information System (GIS) Department

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Geographic Information System Procedures Declaration
3. GIS Roles, Organisational Structure and Responsibilities
4. GIS Environment, Types of Data and Data Format
5. Hardware and Software
6. Coordinate Reference System
7. Geodatabase Management
8. Fieldwork
6. GIS Equipment Management
INTRODUCTION
1. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) refers to a set of written instructions of

protocols or worksheet that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by an
institution (EPA, 2007). SOPs are an integral part of a quality system as they provide
information to do a series of jobs properly, and facilitate the consistency of quality and
integrity of a product from the beginning to the end result. They also document the way
activities are to be undertaken in a consistent way to support data quality. The development
and use of SOPs can minimize variation and promote quality through consistent
implementation of a process or procedure within the organization, even if there are temporary
or permanent personnel changes (EPA, 2007).
2. The use of SOPs in fieldwork makes the job more effective and efficient. Team leader
and field crew can synergize better in the field to achieve maximum fieldwork results. Clear
SOPs provide the assurance of the workflow in the field so that it will not confuse the
implementers in the field.
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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM PROCEDURES DECLARATION
3. These procedures are a mandatory element of VE GIS working procedures, equipment

and staff safety. There must be no deviation from this procedure but suggestions for
improving GIS management are always encouraged and should be discussed with the GIS
Manager for possible inclusion as amendments.
Prepared By: _____________________ Sign:______________ Date: __________
_____________________ Sign:______________ Date: __________

(GIS Department)
Reviewed By: ____________________ Sign: _____________ Date: __________

(General Manager Technical Services)
Approved By: ____________________ Sign: ______________ Date ________

(Chief Executive Officer)
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Appendix B: CTF and Thermal Power Feasibility study maps
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Appendix C: Manhize Iron and Steel map
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Appendix D-I: State Universities Solar PV grid connected projects
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Appendix D-II:Universities grid connected solar projects
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Appendix F: Status updates proforma
TASK REQUIREMENTS STATUS COMMENTS
As given during the What you require to What you Any other information
meeting e.g source accomplish the task e.g have done
quotations transport e.g half
done,
complete
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INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT BY R169219U TIMOTHY NYAHWEMA

Work Related Learning Supervisor

My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague and fellow intern Mr Alexander

Lastly I thank the Almighty for life and good health.

 APO– Annual Plan of Operation(s)

 ASU– Air Separation Unit

 CTX– Coal-To-Liquid Fuels and Chemicals

 DBMS– Database Management System

 DEM– Digital Elevation Model

 DGES –Department of Geography and Environmental Science

 EIA– Environment Impact Assessment

 EMP– Environment Management Planning

 ESIA– Environment and Social Impact Assessment

 GIS– Geographic Information System

 GEOINT– Geospatial Intelligence

 GSZ– Geological Survey of Zimbabwe/Geological Society of Zimbabwe

 FIS– Fire Information System

 FOSS– Free Open Source Software

 ILWIS– Integrated Land and Water Information System

 ISSOM– Integrated Soda and Ash Synthetic Oils Manufacture

 MHTESTD– Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology

 NOIC– National oil and Infrastructure Company

 QGIS– Quantum Geographic Information System

 RDBMS– Relational Database Management System

 RDC– Rural District Council

 SASOL– South Africa Synthetic Oil Liquid

 SG– Special Grant/Surveyor General

 SOP– Standard Operating Procedures

 SHEQ– Safety Health Environment and Quality

 TIR– Thermal Infrared

 USGS– United States Geological Survey

 UAV– Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

2.3.4 Land Surface area and Perimeter calculation of all SGs.................................... 19

4.2.1 Field work and seminars .......................................................................................... 40

Figure 1: VE Head Office location ............................................................................................ 3

Introduction to the organisation of placement

1.1 History of the organization

VE is a technology development parastatal company operating under the purview of Ministry

1.3 Mission Statement

1.4 Overall Goal

1.5 Corporate Motto

1.6 Corporate Values

1.7 Core Business

Figure 1: VE Head Office location

Figure 2: VE Main projects areas of interest

1.9 Company Activities

The company is engaged with the following projects:

1.9.1 Coal to Liquid Fuels and Chemicals (CTX)

1.9.2 Coal to Fertilizer (CTF)

1.9.3 Medical and Industrial Gases

1.9.4 50MW Solar PV Power Plant

1.9.5 600MW Thermal Power Plant

1.9.6 18MW Universities Solar PV Power Plants

1.9.7 Iron and Steel production

1.10 Services and Products

1.11 Organizational structure

Chief Executive Officer