D.Phil. (Geology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Sc. (Geology) / There was a possibility that the rockbursts experienced in the faulty Klerksdorp Goldfield area could be related to the numerous faults, fractures and dykes occurring in the area. Until the end of 1979 it was impossible to establish with any degree of certainty which discontinuity was associated with most of the seismic events, as the location network was too inaccurate at that stage to determine such associations. The accuracy of the network was subsequently improved to 30 m in all directions in a specific area of the macro-network. Twenty seven percent of the seismic events which located in this area, occurred less than 30 m from the faults, 21 percent were less than 30 m from the dykes, while 42 percent occurred less than 30 m from dykes and faults. The remainder ( 10 percent) were located more than 30 m from any of the abovementioned discontinuities.

M.Sc. / The study site for this project is New Clydesdale Colliery situated in the Witbank Coalfield, South Africa. The Witbank Coalfield is located within the northern part of the Karoo Basin where the major coal deposits in South Africa are located. Optimum ash fusion temperatures derived from coal in this region are approximately 1400°C, and higher, although temperatures above 1300°C are also acceptable. In certain coal seams the ash fusion temperatures drop well below this optimum temperature, leading at times to problems in the user industry. Ash fusion temperature which is the temperature at which the mineral matter in coal begins to soften, flow and fuse, is an important aspect relating to coal utilization but is little understood and under-studied in South Africa. The objective of this thesis is to attempt to determine what factors, mineralogical or inorganic chemical, influence variations in the ash fusion temperatures in certain coal samples. An understanding of this problem will have a bearing on the ultimate assessment of a coal for utilization purposes, in general, and ash deposition prediction in future boiler plants in particular. This study is somewhat pioneering as no detailed studies have been undertaken or published previously. Samples were collected at four sites from New Clydesdale Colliery. The sample sites were selected based on pre-existing knowledge of the ash fusion temperatures obtained from company analytical sheets. The sites were therefore representative of low and high ash fusion temperature coal. The first two sites were located in the opencast area where the No. 2 seam is actively being mined. The other two sites were located underground where mining has ceased. Conventional analyses conducted on the samples include proximate analyses, calorific values, percentage sulphur, and ash fusion temperatures. Further analyses performed included ash analyses (composition of ash), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and petrographic studies. It was found that although complex relationships exist between ash fusion temperature and the various geological and coal parameters, positive results were obtained. These indicate a possible relationship between low ash fusion temperatures and i) finer size fractions, ii) an increase in iron content present in the form of pyrite and iii) the form in which pyrite is present, namely cleats. High ash fusion temperatures tend to correlate with i) the absence of pyrite or ii) pyrite present as framboids.

Field work and mapping with the aid of aerial photographs have shown the north Gap Dyke to be a vertical intrusion 93½ miles long . It extends from a point about 4½ miles south of Cathcart to the coast where it enters the sea about 100 yards north of the Ngadla R lver mouth. It is composed of several rock types including dolerite pegmatite, granophyric dolerite, subophitic dolerite, and it has a more or less central core of mobilized sediment at the western end. The essential minerals of the dolerite types include zoned plagioclase, which is described in some detail, and augite. Less important are hornblende and micropegmatite. Accessories include apatite, ilmenite, magnetite, quartz, actinolite, prehnite, calcite and epidote. Iddingsite (?), saussurite and chlorite occur as alteration products. The mode of origin of the Gap Dyke magma remains an open question: it may have arisen as a result of normal crystal fractionation or as the result of hybridization in depth followed by differentiation.

M.Sc. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Sc. (Geology) / Refer to full text to view abstract

D.Phil. (Geology) / The tectonic evolution of the "western margin" of the Witwatersrand Basin is examined and indications are that it has undergone a long and complex history. In order to examine the nature of Witwatersrand-age structures, structures in both pre- and post-Witwatersrand sequences are also examined. Rocks of the ±3074 Ma Dominion Group were subjected to a tectono-metamorphic event prior to the deposition of Witwatersrand strata on an angular unconformity. An oligomictic conglomerate is sporadically developed at the base of the Witwatersrand Supergroup. PreVentersdorp structures in Witwatersrand strata are developed in two distinct trends, north-south and northeast-southwest. The relationship between the two directions of folds and thrust faults are best explained within a regional, sinistral transpressive shear couple; the north-south faults are sinistral strike-slip faults and the northeast-southwest trending folds and thrust faults are secondary structures associated with the strikeslip faults. The implications of this model are that Witwatersrand sedimentation was probably controlled by lateral movements on north-south trending faults and not by thrust faults in a foreland system as suggested by the most recent models of Witwatersrand basin development. Post-Witwatersrand deformation is complex. Southeastward verging, pre-Ventersdorp, thrust faults were reactivated as normal faults during Platberg times and the resultant half-grabens were infilled by conglomerates of the Kameeldoorns Formation. Later deformational events include eastward verging post-Ventersdorp thrust faults and post-Transvaal normal and strike-slip faults. It can be demonstrated that the majority of this later fault movements took place along pre-existing fault planes and therefore tectonic inversion is a fundamental process in the evolution of the Witwatersrand Basin. Clearly therefore, the present distribution of Witwatersrand strata does not reflect the original basin geometry, it is the result of several periods of basin inversion and no basin margins can be defined.

Ph.D. (Aquatic Health) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Phil. (Geology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Sc. / Please refer to full text to view abstract