Publisher's navy blue cloth hardcover with light blue titles on front panel and spine. Pictorial dust jacket.
xix + 296pp. Illustrations in profusion.
Binding tight. Contents clean.
'South Africa, land of legendary mineral wealth, hosts some of the world's greatest ore deposits and mineral fields. After well over a century of mining, mineral exports still account for nearly 60% of the country's foreign exchange earnings. The geological community has played an important role in the development of these resources and the Geological Society's Centennial Congress slogan, "South Africa - Land of Geological Superlatives" aptly describes this bountiful heritage.
Mineral wealth may conjure up visions of gold and platinum bars, piles of coal ready for export, iron ore, manganese and huge iron and steel works. Less obvious, however, are the exceptional variety of beautiful, pristine mineral specimens frequently associated with the major mineral deposits and with many other geological formations throughout the country.
The book, which deals exclusively with minerals found in South Africa, is unique in that it combines mineral illustrations with descriptions, geological settings, historical information and locality maps. It highlights many areas where mineral specimens are to be found including the world-famous Kalahari manganese field, the Witwatersrand goldfield and others. A feature is the alphabetical, illustrated reference section in which are listed the "type-specimes" which were first discovered and described in South Africa. A comprehensive bibliography concludes the very useful reference section.
This publication, which is the result of painstaking research and documentation of information by the authors, Professor Cairncross and Mr Roger Dixon, particularly over the past five years, brings to life, for the first time, and in vivid colour, our mineral heritage.' - from the Foreword
- Jacket Condition: Near Fine
- Binding Condition: Near Fine
- Size: 31 x 24cm
