High level presentation on the geology of South Africa

1. BASIC GEOLOGY OF
SOUTHERN AFRICA

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IN THE BEGINNING…THE REASON BEHIND SA’S GEOLOGY
What would earth be like in the absence of
plate tectonics???
Any mountainous terrain that may have existed
would long have been eroded by wind, rain,
rivers, glaciers and waves and there would
be no dry land on the earth.
Without the constant supply of chemical
elements resulting from weathering, erosion
and volcanic activity, LIFE would have
been deprived of essential resources.
WE WOULD NOT BE HERE TO ENJOY THE
WONDERS OF OUR DYNAMIC SOUTH AFRICA...
VOLCANOES
ROCK FORMATION
PRECIOUS GEMS
PLATE TECTONICS

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DID YOU KNOW???
The metals of the world (iron, platinum, gold, nickel, etc.)
were all mixed into one large bowl (The mantle). They all
had different densities. Over the millions of years that
followed, the metals separated by densities into different
layers, and they sank to the centre of the earth (the core).
Its like how water and oil and alcohol form different layers
when mixed. So 3 billion years after the earth was made,
all the precious metals we use today would have sunk to
the centre to form earth's core (except for those that were
stuck in the rocks of the earth).

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BEFORE… AFTER…

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WHAT IS PLATE TECTONICS???

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RESULTS…VOLCANISM ROCK FORMATION LANDFORMS AND
PRECIOUS METALS REACH THE EARTH

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Limestone
Basalt
Glacier
GEOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES-ROCKS

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Wonder Cave
In Gauteng
Limestone
CONT...

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MORE EXAMPLES OF FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH VOLCANISM

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• Uplift in the Eastern portions of South Africa
e.g. Northern Cape underwent uplift-eroded-
resulted in semi-desert .

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MAKING OF SA’S GEOLOGY

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Commodity Formation Mining Companies Uses
Diamonds
• Kimberlitic Diamonds
• Alluvial Diamonds
• Carbon
• Formed under high temperature
and pressure in the mantle
• Carried to crust by volcanoes
• Cooling of magma left
kimberlitic pipes and
Lamprophyres
• Kimberlites later eroded by
wind, rivers, glaciers
• Alluvial diamonds deposit
formed
•Diamonds deposited in gravels from
their source (kimberlite) by rivers.
• De Beers
• Petra Diamonds
• Rockwell Diamonds Inc.
• Most common uses of
diamonds is in jewellery.
• Synthetic diamonds (man-
made) are mainly used for
industrial applications e.g.
they are put in saws to cut
different materials.
• Because diamonds are the
hardest gemstones they can
be used to cut and polish
other gemstones.
• Windows that cover the
openings of lasers, x-rays and
vacuum chambers have
diamonds in them.
EXAMPLES OF SOUTH AFRICA'S MAJOR ECONOMIC DEPOSIT

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Commodity Formation Mining Companies Uses
Coal • Exxaro
• BHPbilliton
• Anglo Coal
Electricity
Heat from burning coal boils
water, and steam spins a
propeller. A machine turns this
into electricity.
Iron and steel
About 70% of steel is created
using coke, a high-carbon fuel
made from coal. It is burned to
melt and remove impurities from
iron ore during iron and steel
production.
Plant fertiliser
Coal can be turned into ammonia
fertiliser by breaking it into
carbon monoxide and hydrogen
gas. The hydrogen mixes with
nitrogen to make ammonia.
Concrete
Concrete is a building material
made with cement. Coal is burned
to make heat for cement
production. Waste ash from coal-
fired power stations can replace
cement in concrete.
Shampoo
The dandruff and head lice-
zapping power of some
shampoos is thanks to coal tar, a
thick, dark-coloured liquid
produced when goal is turned
into coke or coal gas fuel.

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Commodity Formation Mining Companies Uses
Gold
e.g. Witwatersrand Basin
dominates SA’s Gold production
•There are two hypothesis of origin
of gold.
1. Placer Model
Deposition of gold in the Wits
basin - deposited by rivers from
high land to low lands because of
the high density of gold.
2. Hydrothermal Model
Gold deposited by fluids from
deep within the earth through
faults and fractures, gold then
precipitated from this fluids
within the basin corresponding to
the two layers of conglomerate.
• Goldfields
• AngloGold Ashanti
• Harmony
• Jewellery
The Primary Use of Gold.
• Dentistry
Gold wire to fasten
replacement teeth into the
mouths of their patients
• Making of Glass
Gold is also used when making
specialty glass for climate
controlled buildings and
cases. A small amount of gold
dispersed within the glass or
coated onto the glass surface
will reflect solar radiation
outward, helping the buildings
stay cool in the summer, and
reflect internal heat inward,
helping them stay warm in
winter.
• Financial Gold
Gold is very highly valued
metal, as a result it may be
used as medium of exchange
of money.

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Commodity Formation Mining Companies Uses
Platinum e.g. Bushveld Igneous
Complex
BIC
Metals mixed together in the
mantle
• An eruption in southern Africa
caused large amounts of this
magma to come to the surface.
• Just like how the metals
separated in layers in the
earth's core, the metals also
separated in layers within this
lava lake from the volcano.
• Lava lake solidified.
• Lava layers contained specific
metals (leading to why it is
called a layered intrusion).
• However, there was a really
thick layer of this intrusion that
contained a large
concentration of ore.
• This thick layer that we mine
today contain chromitite
(makes chrome) and platinum
ore, which explains why we
have more platinum than other
materials
• Anglo platinum
• Implats
• Lonmin
• Automotive – used in catalytic
converters, spark plugs, and
sensors
• Jewellery – as a substitute for
gold
•Chemical processing – also as a
general catalyst
•Electrical/electronics – for high-
temperature and non-corrosive
wires and contacts
•Glass – dies and process
technology
•Petroleum refining – as a catalyst
for crude oil cracking
•Dental/Medical – equipment and
reconstructive
• Investment – bullion and coins

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CONCLUSIONS
• Millions of years ago…
Earth started arching
Shifting of plates
Causing Volcanism
Depressions on land/ Uplift
Rock Formation
Geological Profile of South Africa