Description
This field trip will visit the three largest lithium mining operations in Zimbabwe: Arcadia, Bikita, and Kamativi. The excursion will begin with a visit to the Arcadia deposit, an Archaean Pegmatite enriched in lithium minerals spodumene and petalite. The group will also visit a proximal exploration project, Colga, where core from a deeper drilling program will be observed and discussions around the various exploration models and processes will be the order of the day.
From there, we will travel south to the world-famous Bikita, another Archaean pegmatite zone. New ownership is concentrating on lithium production, but historical production from the 1950s has covered a range of minerals, and wonderful rock specimens should be encountered. While in the vicinity, participants will have a quick visit to Great Zimbabwe, the historical city from which the Monomatapa empire ruled between the 11th and 15th centuries.
The group will then take a long, scenic drive through the heart of Zimbabwe, crossing the Great Dyke, various greenstone and granite terrain, and eventually ending up in Hwange for the night. The following day, we will visit Kamativi, a Proterozoic tin pegmatite that is now being exploited for lithium.
We will end our trip with our final evening in Victoria Falls, where we will dine out at one of the fabulous restaurants there and organize a trip to visit the falls themselves in the morning, allowing time to catch the 1:30pm Airlink flight to Namibia.
Note that trip coordinators will provide flight recommendations for arriving to and departing from this field trip, but registrants are responsible for booking their own air travel logistics.
Attendees must bring safety shoes. Hard hats, reflective vests, and additional PPE will be provided.
About the Leaders
Adam Moodley
Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ)
Adam is a geologist originally from Zimbabwe. He completed his honours degree in geology at the University of Cape Town in 2010 and then worked as a mine geologist on various gold deposits in the Gwanda Greenstone Belt in southwestern Zimbabwe for three years.
In 2013, Adam returned to the University of Cape Town to pursue a master's degree in geology, focusing on the sedimentary petrology of carbonate nodules in the Elliot Formation of the Karoo Supergroup, South Africa.
Adam joined the Arcadia Lithium exploration project as a Project Geologist in 2016. His primary responsibility was to assess the economic viability of the Arcadia Pegmatite swarm. Currently, Adam is the Technical Services Manager at Arcadia Mine, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), where he is primarily responsible for grade control.
Gayle Hanssen
Private Consultant
Gayle Hanssen has over 38 years' experience in southern and central Africa, but with a focus on her home country — Zimbabwe. She has been involved in both the extraction and exploration sectors of industry. During the last 25 years she has been as a private consultant, specializing in gold, base metals, and now lithium deposits. Gayle was involved in grass roots exploration in the 1990s, which culminated in the discovery of Maligreen mine, which was located beneath 7m of Kalahari sand. After a long hiatus in the exploration sector in Zimbabwe due to land tenure issues, Gayle is back again in exploration, currently working on gold and lithium projects under exploration licenses.
Registration
Early Deadline: July 22, 2024
Regular Deadline: September 12, 2024
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Early |
Regular |
| SEG Professional Member |
SOLD OUT |
| SEG Student and Recent Graduate Members |
SOLD OUT |
| Non-member |
SOLD OUT |
| All prices are in United States dollars (USD). SEG reserves the right to cancel this event should minimum attendance numbers not be met by July 22, 2024. All registrants will be given a full refund should SEG cancel the field trip. Cancellation policy, event photography, dietary restrictions, and more are detailed in the SEG Conference terms and conditions. |
All field trip registrants will be required to provide proof of emergency medical evacuation coverage in order to participate in conference field trips. Individuals may conveniently purchase this coverage online through various organizations such as International SOS or utilize existing coverage that they may already have through their employment. Further details and additional required documentation will be shared with registrants.
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