To include deposits of lead, copper, zinc, other metals not considered currently as critical raw materials.
The industrialized modern world is highly dependent on a wide range of mineral commodities to keep it functioning. Without these metals, many of which occur rarely in exploitable amounts in nature, the world economy would literally grind to a halt. This is reflected in the close correlation between metal prices and the ups and downs of the global economic growth cycle. Slow economic growth leads to low metal prices, while quicker economic growth results in a boom in the mining industry as prices skyrocket.
Southern Africa is endowed with a wide variety of base and scarce mineral deposits, some of which rank amongst the largest in the world. These include the copper deposits in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the uranium deposits in Namibia. Understanding the characteristics of these varied deposits will lead to enhanced exploration methods and later mining and processing efficiencies.
Current Research:
- Development of an innovative, energy-efficient and eco-friendly hybrid process towards the extraction of low-grade and complex PGE ores
Ass. Prof. Glen Nwaila - The Tantalite Valley Complex: Complex genesis, Ni-Cu-Co-PGE prospectivity and report on its Metallogenesis
Dr Bjorn von der Heyde - Use of non-invasive methods in the exploration for blind vanadium deposits
 Prof. Judith Kinnaird - The metallogeny of the mafic–ultramafic Sithilo Complex, Tugela Terrane, Natal Metamorphic Province
Dr Lauren Hoyer - The use of machine learning tools to analyze and predict faults, dykes and potholes at Impala Platinum mine
Ass. Prof. Musa Manzi - A contribution to the genesis of the orbicular granites and sulphide mineralization in the Koperberg Suite
Dr Trishya Owen-Smith
