CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – An international geological congress is set to bring together the largest gathering of geologists ever seen on the African continent.

The 35th International Geological Congress (IGC) will be held in Cape Town from August 27 to September 4, 2016, and organizers are hoping it will attract 6 000 delegates.  

“This is like running the World Cup of Geology,” says Greg Botha, secretary general at the 35th International Geological Congress (IGC) Foundation.

“We are going to see geologists from all disciplines, as well as exploration and supply companies, coming together to focus the geoscience world’s attention on Africa.”

Botha says advances in earth science research and geological mapping that have led to many amazing discoveries and fostered the mining boom across the continent will be under discussion.

South African Chamber of Mines president Mike Teke says the resources of the future lie predominantly in the developing world, particularly in Africa.

“We know that there are trillions of tons of mineral deposits in the earth, but without the geologists we don’t know where they are or what they are.

“Mining starts with us having the confidence to invest in exploration. Mining starts with the answers that the geologists provide. They give us the surety we need to start operating, says Teke, who is chairperson of the board of the 35th IGC and honorary fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa.

‘Geoscience in the economy’ is one of the major themes of the 35th IGC,  together with ‘Geoscience for Society’  which includes environment, heritage and education,  as well as ‘fundamental geoscience’.

Teke says a congress such as this will showcase work by geologists in Africa, as well as highlight opportunities. 

“Geologists give us certainty and confidence in what we are doing. They are core to the exploration. They are core in the drilling programmes and they are core when we talk about all aspects of a mining industry that creates jobs and makes money. Without them we would have no mining industry.”

As part of the focus on economic geology, the 35th IGC will look at how to extract mineral resources in an economically feasible, environmentally sound and socially responsible way.  Given the lag between the discovery and production of new resources, it will also consider questions such as how to accommodate the growing global population, as well as the right of people to improve their standard of living.

Many geosafaris have been planned, including a trip to the highest point in Africa – the peak of Kilimanjaro – and down into the deepest mine.

Multiday excursions are being planned within South Africa. Field trips will also be offered to Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique.  A post-congress field trip to Ghana is also under consideration.

The 35th IGC is a Pan-African event and the IGC Foundation has the support of the major African Geoscientific Societies and other related organisations.  The Congress is held every four years.