MINING IN THE

SUBREGION
MR. MUTINTA

Mr.
Mutinta
MINERAL DISTRIBUTION

• Locate on a map of Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa mining areas for gold, diamonds
coal, petroleum and natural gas and iron ore
• Maps showing gold and diamonds in South Africa,
• Maps showing petroleum and natural gas in Angola
• Maps showing coal and Iron ore in Zimbabwe and South Africa

Mr. Mutinta
GOLD AND DIAMONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

• Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. Classified as
a transition metal,
• Gold is a solid at room temperature and pressure
• It is a brilliant /shiny yellow – reddish mineral

Mr. Mutinta
WHERE IS GOLD FOUND IN SOUTH AFRICA?

• The majority of the country’s gold resources are located in the Witwatersrand Basin,
one of the world’s largest gold placer deposits.
1. Witwatersrand
2. Odendaalrus
3. Lydenburg
4. Welkom
5. Free State
6. Johannesburg

Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta

EXTRACTION OF GOLD

• Underground Mining
• Alluvial Mining/panning
• Surface Mining
Mr. Mutinta

PROCESSING OF GOLD

• Crushing: ground into powder

• Stirring: with a solution of cyanide to dissolve gold particles
• Mixing: with Zinc to precipitate the gold and Sulphuric acid to separate from Uranium
• Melting: to remove impurities
• Moulding: into bars
Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta

DIAMOND MINING IN SOUTH AFRICA

• Diamond is a mineral composed of pure carbon

• It is the hardest naturally occurring substance known;
• it is also the most popular gemstone.
• Because of their extreme hardness, diamonds have a number of important
industrial applications
Mr. Mutinta

APPEARANCE OF DIAMONDS

• GEM diamonds are pure crystalline forms of carbon

• INDUSTRIAL diamonds are smaller, impure and of poor quality
Mr. Mutinta

OCCURRENCE OF DIAMONDS

• Diamonds are found in three types of deposits:

1. alluvial gravels,
2. glacial tills, and
3. kimberlite pipes.

• The kimberlite pipes (such as those at Kimberley, South Africa) form from
intrusions of magma into the Earth's crust and deliver diamonds and other rocks
and minerals from the mantle
Mr. Mutinta

DIAMOND MINES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta

EXTRACTION AND PROCESSING OF DIAMONDS

1. Blasting
2. Lifting of the ore to the surface
3. Crushing of the ore into smaller pieces
4. Washing and removing dirt
5. Use of a rotating table with greese and water to separate diamonds from other wastes
6. Sorting out diamonds
Mr. Mutinta

PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN ANGOLA

Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta

COAL MINING IN ZIMBAMBWE

Mr. Mutinta
Mr. Mutinta

IRON MINING IN ZIMBABWE

Mr. Mutinta

FACTORS INFLUENCING LOCATION OF

MINERAL PROCESSING PLANTS
• Geological occurrence,
• accessibility, transport,
• power,
• labour,
• markets,
• government policies,
• local and world demand
Mr. Mutinta

IMPORTANCE OF MINING ON THE ECONOMIES

OF COUNTRIES IN THE SUBREGION
• Exports to earn foreign exchange,
• employment,
• raw materials
Mr. Mutinta

CONSTRAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH

PRODUCTION AND SALE OF MINERALS
• High Production Cost
• Specialized Labour
• Corruption
• Transport Routes To Exports Ports
• Fluctuating Prices
• Demand On World Markets
• Theft
• Money Laundering
Mr. Mutinta

MEASURES ADOPTED TO OVERCOME SOME

OF THE PROBLEMS RELATED TO MINING
• Regional policies (harmonization of standards),
• privatization,
• liberalization,
• opening new mines,
• enabling environment for investment,
• crime prevention
Mr. Mutinta

IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ENVIRONMENT

• Air, soil, and water pollution,

• land degradation,
• depletion of natural resources,
• destruction of vegetation
Mr. Mutinta

Thank you