R.C.A. Minnitt

An input-output analysis of the impact of mining on the South African economy

Abstract We use input–output techniques to analyse the impacts of gold, coal, and other mining activities upon the South African economy between 1971 and 1993. Our results suggest that the premise upon which the South African governments proposed minerals policy is based, i.e. that “the mining industries have the capacity to generate wealth and employment on a large scale” (Republic of South Africa, Department of Minerals and Energy, 1998. A minerals and mining policy. White Paper, Department of Minerals and Energy, Republic of South Africa), may require further thought. Our estimated production and employment multipliers indicate that the impacts of marginal changes in mining production and employment were not significantly different from production and employment impacts of most other South African economic activities and that there were few linkages between mining and the rest of the economy. These results suggest that South African mining activities will increase income and employment only if exports increase or if policies are established to increase linkages between mining and the rest of the South African economy.

Geology and geochemistry of a granite-greenstone association in the southeastern Vredefort dome, South Africa

A sequence of mafic to ultramafic chlorite-actinolite-hornblende-talc rocks with komatiitic and komatiitic basalt compositions has been mapped in the southeastern Vredefort dome. A volcanic origin for the rocks is indicated by pillow structures, flow banding, variolites and spinifex textures in low-strain domains. They are intercalated with quartz-sericite-biotite schists. The rocks are metamorphosed to mid-greenschist-facies (~400°C) and are heterogeneously deformed, with a dominant subvertical, northwest-trending schistosity (S3) that developed under peak metamorphic conditions. To the northwest, the greenstones are bounded by a kilometre-wide dip-slip shear zone, which includes poorly-exposed high-grade (~700°C, 5 kbar) amphibolites and migmatitic trondhjemitic gneisses, and pegmatitic granite, and which separates the low-grade rocks from the high-grade gneissic core of the dome. The variation in metamorphic grade across the mapped area is attributed primarily to the displacement across the shear zone (southeast side down), but it may also reflect, in part, deeper levels of exhumation towards the centre of the dome. In contrast to the komatiitic greenstones, the amphibolites within the shear zone have a tholeiitic composition; however, they also show features consistent with volcanic precursors and are interleaved wirh banded ironstones and quartz-sericite-biotite schists. The mafic and ultramafic metavolcanics display close similarities to the komatiites and komatiitic basalts in the Johannesburg dome, but are relatively depleted in Fe2O3, TiO2 and CaO and enriched in Al2O3 relative to the Barberton greenstones. They are compositionally distinct from the dismembered granulite-facies greenstone remnants in the central parts of the dome.

Economic Trends in the Platinum-Group Metals Market

This paper examines the consumption, production, and pricing patterns of the platinum-group metals (PGM) for the years 1980-2000. The aim is to better understand the happenings in the PGM market of recent years and to project the likely trends and economic impacts for the future. Hypotheses about the PGM market are generated and tested using correlation coefficients, linear regression, and instability index methods on the annual time series data for PGM consumption, production, and prices. The likely impacts of the PGM market trends on South Africas economy are considered. The main points arising from the paper are summarized and are followed by concluding remarks.

Calibrating K and Alpha in Gy's Formula: A New Approach

Application of Gy’s formula to the determination of the fundamental sampling error is critically based on the calibration of the parameters K and alpha (

National minerals policies and stakeholder participation for broad-based development in the southern African development community (SADC)

\alpha

Cokriging for optimal mineral resource estimates in mining operations

α) in his equation. Typical calibration methods include the heterogeneity test (HT) and the duplicate sampling analysis (DSA). Concerns relating to these methods are that the HT is applicable to only one size fraction, whereas the DSA method may introduce grouping and segregation errors (GSE) during sample splitting, thus casting suspicion on the values derived for K and

Thermal coal products in South Africa

\alpha