Pans comprise a large proportion of southern African wetlands and yet remain poorly classified. Very little data is available on the aqueous chemistry of southern African saline systems, and with the exception of a few publications dealing, in part, with the soil and associated materials of pan floors and margins, soil and sediment information on pans is similarly limited. Barber's Pan is a shallow, alkaline lake situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is a unique system in several respects, but is considered most valuable from the aspect of bird conservation, since it is perennial in an area characterized by shallow, seasonally filled pans. Its perennial state is the consequence of anthropogenic intervention in the early part of this century which resulted in the diversion of the Harts River back along its fossil course. The biogeographical importance of Barber's Pan is emphasised by its designation as the only RAMSAR site in the North West Province. The overall objective of this study was to provide a geochemical characterization of Barber's Pan. This was approached by reviewing pertinent literature on the origin and geochemical characteristics of pans and saline lakes through an investigation of the water and sediments of Barber's Pan. The study focused on four aspects of the pan geochemistry, namely: the levels of certain nutrients and potential pollutants in the pan; gaining an understanding of the dynamics of phosphorus, as well as other nutrients, in the pan; geochemically characterizing the sediments; and investigating the impact of evaporative concentration of the pan water on the overall geochemistry of the system. Comparative investigations were carried out on the sediments of the Harts River diversion and Leeupan, a neighbouring, actively deflational, ephemeral pan.

Fifty three sedimentary samples were analyzed for their minor and trace element concentrations utilizing instrumental neutron activation analysis. Concentrations of Na, K, La, Sm and Sc, and their ratios appear to establish significant trends. The data suggest a major break from a granitic-metamorphic provenance and a volcanic component dominated provenance between the Cowlitz and Keasey Formations respectively. The provenance of the Astoria Formation indicates the presence of flood basalts.

4 pp. / Following on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Arsenic Rule" decision to require public water systems to lower the allowable arsenic content in drinking water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb by January 23, 2006, private well owners across the state have realized the importance of testing their own water supply for arsenic. Under Arizona law, it is the sole responsibility of the private well owner to determine the quality (potability) of their private well water. This article discusses the geologic prevelance of arsenic across the state, and options available to the well owner to address this water quality concern. Expected to be the first in a 3-part series on ground water quality issues common in Arizona.

<p> The recent discovery of ore grade gold in the Hemlo area of Northern Ontario has provided the initiative for extensive exploration in that region. This study concentrates on rocks from the footwall to the ore zone on the Williams property of Long Lac Mineral Exploration. </p> <p> The footwall rocks consist of fine grained, finely laminated tuffs. The suite has undergone low grade regional metamorphism. Retrograde metamorphic effects are also present but appear to be confined to certain bands. Some of the minerals may have been introduced by the action of metasomatic fluids. </p> <p> The tuffs are quite felsic and many have the composition of a rhyolite. Samples tested for gold have up to 200 times the background concentration of a rhyolite . The gold is associated with high Sio2 and K20 and low Al2O3, CaO, Na2O, Fe2O3 and MgO contents. </p> <p> The ore deposit is similar in many respects to the Bousquet deposit of Northern Quebec. The Bousquet deposit has been interpreted as syngenetic by some authors and therefore it is quite possible that the Hemlo deposit is syngenetic as well. However the metamorphism and possible metasomatism that these rocks have undergone suggests that it may be an epigenetic deposit. Due to the limited number of samples in this study it could not conclusively be determined which hypothesis is correct. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)