Who We Are
Zonge International is an employee-owned geophysical services company, instrument manufacturer, and engineering group. Founded by Dr. Ken Zonge in 1972, we focus on applying electrical, electromagnetic, and potential-field methods to image the Earth’s subsurface.
Our goal is to provide state-of-the-art instruments to exploration groups worldwide and continue to be among the world’s leading geophysical service providers. We look at each day as an opportunity to become a better company. We are proud of our history, but each day we are making new history. It is about finding time to mix the tried and true with the innovative and new. It is about always looking for a better way to do something, even when it is not easy. Zonge invests significantly in R&D projects each year.
We are a true medium-sized company, with the nucleus of our field services existing in the Biggest Little City (Reno, NV) and our instrument manufacturing headquarters located in the Biggest Small Town (Tucson, Arizona). Last but not least, we also have an office in La Ciudad del Sol (Hermosillo, Mexico).
Our company consists of approximately 50 employees, with the majority working on the field services side.
Although most of the fieldwork we complete is in the western U.S. and Mexico, we have worked internationally, and we are open to international fieldwork opportunities and partnerships going forward. Most of our instrument sales are to companies outside of the U.S.
The Ballad of Zonge
Our history inspired a song. Written by our colleague Dakota Prudhomme, this playful tribute celebrates the people and curiosity behind Zonge.
Listen to “Hertz” · 2:56
Read the lyrics
There once was a man who had quite a plan
To build a system that would set quite a trend.
Time after time, he’d hear the geologists whine,
“The rocks should be electrical, there’s a fault in the design!”
So Sumner’s student went afoot
With a digital dream and a computer to boot
He loaded the Red Baron, a Chevy packed to the brim
With instrumentation, wires, and a theory to spin
It’s too Complex, the critics would say
The Resistivity would be enough to dissuade.
But the sulfides were there, waiting to be found
All he had to do was image beneath the ground.
Backpacking a box full of bits into the bush,
What he discovered caused quite a rush.
He acquired IP but in frequency domain,
Using bandpass filtering and stacking through gains
But a problem existed of coupling response,
And he turned to Jeff Wynn to lead the renaissance.
With Wiatrowski and Bob Staley’s wits guaranteed,
And with Mr Young and Van Reed, they acquired with speed
There was Aiken and Rabb, and good ol Bobby Jack
They impressed that mining company, AMAX
For the data were fitted and the results anticipated,
And what they revealed was hardly understated.
They indicated that minerals not only existed
But it was possible that they could be discriminated!
Our Ken went from Zero to hero just like that
And now we carry on the legacy and tip our hats
To the man who chased signals beneath the land,
Building from the dust up, a long lasting brand.
Zonge International – imaginary and rational
We can help you find minerals and geothermal,
Or resources in general
We aren’t afraid of chasing breakthroughs
With surprisingly stable and able field crews
We provide data that is more than voodoo.
Our name is time tested and frequently resisted,
And our products so trusted…
It hertz.