School of Geosciences - University of Witwatersrand

Aug 9

BUGEMET WORKSHOP - READING THE ROCKS Join us for a unique 2-day workshop exploring the Bushveld Complex — one of the world’s most significant layered mafic intrusions and a treasure trove of platinum, chromite, and vanadium deposits. 🔍 Led by Prof. Rais Latypov, this workshop includes: 📍 Field tr...Read more

BUGEMET WORKSHOP - READING THE ROCKS Join us for a unique 2-day workshop exploring the Bushveld Complex — one of the world’s most significant layered mafic intrusions and a treasure trove of platinum, chromite, and vanadium deposits. 🔍 Led by Prof. Rais Latypov, this workshop includes: 📍 Field trip (28 August) to the Dwars River and Magnet Heights localities 📍 Indoor sessions (29 August) at the Protea Ranch Hotel, Polokwane Participants will gain hands-on insight into magmatic ore deposits, guided by textural, structural, and geochemical clues. 📆 Dates: 28–29 August 2025 💸 Cost: • R1 000 (BUGEMET-affiliated delegates) • R1 500 (other delegates) ✅ 16 GSSA CPD points ✅ 2 SACNASP points 📌 Register now via the QR code! #BUGEMET #ReadingTheRocks #BushveldComplex #GeoscienceWorkshop #PlatinumGroupElements #Vanadium #Chromite #CPD #FieldGeology #WitsGeosciences #MineralDeposits

Aug 8

Today, we’re spotlighting one of our staff members, Lungelwa Ndevu. Lungelwa received a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Marketing from MANCOSA in a ceremony held in July 2024. “My BCom Honours in Marketing project focused on exploring customer experience within the School of Geosciences at ...Read more

Today, we’re spotlighting one of our staff members, Lungelwa Ndevu. Lungelwa received a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Marketing from MANCOSA in a ceremony held in July 2024. “My BCom Honours in Marketing project focused on exploring customer experience within the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, with particular attention to how students perceive service quality and administrative support in an academic environment. “I am currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration, which is broadening my understanding of strategic management, leadership and organisational performance. I hope to use this combination of marketing insight and business acumen to contribute to higher education strategy, service excellence and stakeholder engagement in academic or corporate settings,” says Lungwelwa. We are excited about her future contributions to our team and wish her all the best in her MBA studies.

Aug 6

Well done to three of our staff members on reaching the final round of the 2025 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards, held on 31 July 2025. These awards are the largest and most prestigious national honours of their kind in the country, celebrating and promoting excellence in scien...Read more

Well done to three of our staff members on reaching the final round of the 2025 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards, held on 31 July 2025. These awards are the largest and most prestigious national honours of their kind in the country, celebrating and promoting excellence in science, engineering, technology (SET) and innovation by individuals, teams, and organisations in South Africa. We are incredibly proud of both of our professors who were recognised for the TW Kambule-NSTF Award: Professor Glen Nwaila, director of our AfricaResearch Centre for Ore Systems Science (CORES), for his transformative contributions to critical minerals exploration globally and in South Africa. His work involves modernising geostatistical, geometallurgical and machine learning methods, utilising multi-scale geoscience data, and providing thought leadership in mining strategy and uncertainty-quantified mineral policy frameworks. Professor Musa Manzi, associate professor of geophysics at the Wits School of Geosciences and director of the Seismic Research Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand, for his significant scientific work in near-surface mining, energy and environmental geophysics. We also acknowledge Professor Susan Webb, associate professor of geophysics at the Wits School of Geosciences, who was also nominated for the Communication Award, as part of the Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) team. We also extend our gratitude to Professor Gillian Drennan, associate professor at the Wits School of Geosciences, for her exceptional efforts as the newly appointed chairperson and head adjudicator of the NSTF Awards. Her dedication in reviewing candidates over many weeks was evident, and we were honoured to witness her take the stage as MC. Finally, a big thank you to all our staff for their support throughout the application and nomination process. Enormous congratulations also go to our fellow Wits University award recipients, as well as our friends and colleagues in STEM across the nation, on their well-deserved awards. #WitsForGood #Wits #WitsGeosciences

Aug 4

Geotalk – Thursday, 7 August Join us for a talk by James Campbell from Botswana Diamonds Plc titled: “The AK6 kimberlite (Karowe Mine): Discovery through to production, learning the lessons of history.” 📅 Date: Thursday, 7 August 🕓 Time: 16h00 📍 Venue: G101, Wits Geosciences 💻 Zoom Meeting ID: 9...Read more

Geotalk – Thursday, 7 August Join us for a talk by James Campbell from Botswana Diamonds Plc titled: “The AK6 kimberlite (Karowe Mine): Discovery through to production, learning the lessons of history.” 📅 Date: Thursday, 7 August 🕓 Time: 16h00 📍 Venue: G101, Wits Geosciences 💻 Zoom Meeting ID: 971 6840 3738 Come hear the story behind one of Botswana’s most significant diamond discoveries — from exploration to extraction.

Aug 1

Join us for a geochronology masterclass, focusing on the fundamentals and advanced applications of U-Pb geochronology. Learn from a distinguished local and international team of experts: 💠Robert Bolhar (Wits School of Geosciences) 💠Scott MacLennan (Wits School of Geosciences) 💠Maria Ovtcharova U...Read more

Join us for a geochronology masterclass, focusing on the fundamentals and advanced applications of U-Pb geochronology. Learn from a distinguished local and international team of experts: 💠Robert Bolhar (Wits School of Geosciences) 💠Scott MacLennan (Wits School of Geosciences) 💠Maria Ovtcharova University of Geneva) 💠Urs Schaltegger (University of Geneva) 💠David Chew (Trinity College Dublin) This masterclass, “Timing Earth Processes”, offers unparalleled insights from leading global and local geochronology experts. It's an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in the geosciences field. Event details: 💠Dates: 27 to 29 October 2025 💠Fee: R200 💠Location: University of the Witwatersrand, Geosciences Building, Johannesburg 💠Registration: https://forms.gle/ZaRgCquSBLq8WhVu5 For further information, please contact our organising team, who will be happy to assist you. 💠Thoriso Lekoetje – 💠2119052@students.wits.ac.za Faith Nyathi – 2364547@students.wits.ac.za #WitsForGood #Wits #WitsGeosciences