5th Southern African Mineral Symposium 2021
Second Circular
A one-day symposium highlighting minerals and mineral and gemstone deposits of southern Africa hosted jointly by the Mineralogical Association of South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand and the South African Micromount Society
Important Information
- Date: Saturday 20th November 2021
- Venue: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
- Cost: R175.00 (attendees); R100 (presenters) – Reduced from 1st Call (includes tea/coffee & packed lunch)
- Enquiries: Symposium Chairman – Igor Željko Tonžetić: minsa@gssa.org.za
- Abstracts Due Date: 12 September 2021 (Extended Submission)
The Mineralogical Association of South Africa (MINSA) in conjunction with the South African Micromount Society (SAMS) and the University of the Witwatersrand would like to invite you and all interested parties to submit abstracts/extended abstracts/short communications (for presentation) at the 5th Southern African Minerals Symposium 2021. Please try to keep your abstracts/extended abstracts/short communications down to 2 pages (Calibri 11, Single Line Spacing). Abstracts/extended abstracts/short communications longer than 4 pages will not be accepted. You are welcome to include images/figures/pictures/photos/diagrams etc in your abstract. You are also welcome to include references. Be sure to include a title, author name, and affiliation/address in your abstract. Accepted abstracts will be published with short biographies.
A poster programme will run concurrently. As such you are also welcome to submit posters for display.
Background to the symposium
This symposium will be the fifth ‘mineral symposium’ that has been held in South Africa, albeit not on a very regular basis. The ‘1st International Gem & Minerals Symposium’ was organised in September 1975 by the Pretoria Gem & Mineral Club in Pretoria on behalf of the Federation of South African Gem and Mineralogical Societies. Four overseas and three local mineralogists and gemmologists delivered a series of talks over three days and one day was taken up by field trips. The themes of the lectures were focused primarily on overseas minerals, mineral localities and on gemstones.
Seventeen years later! Bruce Cairncross organized and convened the ‘First SA Mineral Collectors Symposium’ at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg in September 1992. This concentrated more on local content than the first symposium held in Pretoria, which had a distinct international flavour. This took place over a week-end with thirteen local experts presenting talks on various aspects of minerals, mineral localities, mineral identification, analytical techniques and gemstones. After a day and a half of talks, delegates then visited some of the local collectors in the Johannesburg-Pretoria area to view their collections.
Eighteen years later, in 2010 the ‘3rd Southern African Mineral Symposium’ was held at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria. Jointly organised by some members of the Witwatersrand Gem and Mineral Club and the South African Micromount Society, this one-day event showcased local experts and specialists (both amateur and professional) in mineralogy, gemmology, mineral collecting and related topics presenting a wide ranging series of talks and poster displays on the region’s minerals and gemstones. The symposium was a tremendous success, with over 100 participants, 14 speakers along with 9 poster presentations.
Similarly, and heralding on from the success of the previous symposium the 2012 symposium was held at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria and attracted 12 speakers with over 100 delegates in attendance. Topics included: the Phalaborwa Complex, Okiep Copper District, the industrial archaeology of silver in the Pretoria region, microminerals of the Bushveld Complex, FOSAGAMS mineral excursions, the Museum Africa minerals collection, mineral connoisseurship, detrital rutile, diamond morphology, tanzanite, meteorites, the Kalahari Manganese Field and the Rosh Pinah Pb-Zn Mine.
The purpose of the 2021 symposium (as with previous symposiums), is twofold. Firstly, to get together the ‘professionals’ and the ‘amateurs’ who are experts in their respective fields and to have stimulating discussions on minerals, gems and related topics. Secondly, the symposium acts as a vehicle for promoting and highlighting minerals, mineral heritage, mineral collecting and mineral preservation in our region. It is therefore envisaged to use the success of the current symposium, and the previous ones, to have these on a more regular basis.
Day’s Programme
08:00 – 09:00 Arrival, registration and tea
09:00 – 09:10 Welcome and announcements
09:10 – 10:50 Presentations – Session 1
10:50 – 11:20 Morning tea, posters and dealer sales
11:20 – 12:35 Presentations – Session 2
12:35 – 13:45 Lunch and dealer sales
13:45 – 15:25 Presentations – Session 3
15:25 – 15:55 Afternoon tea, posters and dealer sales
15:55 – 17:10 Presentations – Session 4
17:10 – 17:20 Closing remarks
17:20 – 19:30 Posters and dealer sales
COVID Implications
This event is being planned as a contact event, especially with regards to helping mineral specimen dealers in these hard times. As such, only the first 70 registrations for applicants will be accepted to ensure adequate social distancing (this is half the number that has been accommodated at previous symposia). Registration forms will be distributed shortly after the 12th of September. However, that is only assuming that the event will be allowed to occur and that we obtain enough abstracts to justify the event. We are holding thumbs but you will be notified of any cancellations should they occur.
Your understanding in this regard is much appreciated.