Associate Professor Axel Hofmann

Academic qualifications and professional experience

1997                    Diplom (MSc) in Geology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany

1998 – 2005         Research Associate and part-time lecturer, University of Zimbabwe, Harare

2002            Doctorate (Dr rer nat) in Geology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany

2002 – 2004         Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

2005 – 07/2010    Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

from 08/2010      Associate Professor, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Fields of expertise

Field geology of supracrustal rocks in Archaean terrains; comparative studies of early and late Archaean greenstone belts; hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization; Archaean surface processes and crustal evolution; habitat of early life.

Current research activities

  • Sedimentology, basin evolution and gold/uranium mineralization of the 2.9 Ga Pongola Supergroup, South Africa
  • The origin of silicification in early Earth environments
  • Multiple S isotope and Fe isotope analysis of detrital pyrite and sulphidic black shales from the Archaean record of South Africa and Zimbabwe
  • Peering into the Cradle of Life – scientific drilling in the Barberton greenstone belt

Research output

Published c. 50 peer-reviewed articles in high impact journals and book chapters and c. 100 conference abstracts with > 1000 Google Scholar citations since 1998