A free-to-attend five-part webinar series on alteration and its linkages to fluids, structures and gold deposits will be presented every Thursday at 10:30 from March 3 to March 31 by geoscience collective the Overberg Geoscientists Group (OGG), in collaboration with nonprofit organisation the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA).

The timing of the webinar series is aimed at capitalising on the significant new geological advances on the Barberton gold deposits, in Mpumalanga, under the leadership of Stellenbosch University's Professor Alex Kisters, who was awarded the Draper Memorial Medal in November last year for his work and leadership in greenstone gold mineralisation research.

The Draper Memorial Medal is the highest scientific award given by the GSSA. It is awarded yearly to a member of the GSSA for career-long exceptional contributions to geological science, particularly in the advancement of South African geology.

Kister has told Mining Weekly of “the critical importance of recognising the intimate relationships between structure, fluid movement and alteration by applying modern geological technologies and interpretations in greenstone and other gold deposits, and, thereby, unlocking new economic gold horizons in old deposits.”

He added that the incorporation of examples from the goldfields of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia and the Witwatersrand basin, in South Africa, further emphasises the opportunities arising from the global transfer of ideas for exploration and mining.

The webinar series, which will be hosted on Zoom, will incorporate five presentations facilitated by the universities of Melbourne and Stellenbosch's Professor Neil Phillips. All of the webinars are open to industry, explorationists and the general public and will highlight new research in Barberton and other well-known gold provinces. 

On March 3, the “Introduction to presentation series: Fluid wall-rock alteration in greenstone gold deposits” will be presented by Phillips.

March 10 will feature a presentation on “Structural settings and alteration of the Barberton gold deposits” by Tect Geological Consulting geoscientist Caitlin Jones.

On March 17, Kisters will present “Barberton gold deposits as examples of the interplay of structure and alteration”, while economic geologist Julian Vearncombe will present “Optimising the use of structural geology in the gold industry” on March 24.

Finally, Phillips will present “Applying Archean gold alteration to the Witwatersrand goldfields” on March 31.

All the webinars can be accessed at this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82093178839?pwd=dWs1c2k2RkFuTS9CM2VtZ0lsUHdndz09

For additional information on the webinar series, contact John Bristow at jwbdia@gmail.com or Hennie Greeff at hennie.greeff@gmail.com.