Swaziland
Geological
Survey and Mines Department
Ministry
of Natural Resources and Energy
P.O. Box 57, Mbabane, H100
Phone: +268-2404-5840
Fax: +268-2404-4330
P.O. Box 57, Mbabane, H100
Phone: +268-2404-5840
Fax: +268-2404-4330
CIA Factbook
Political rights and civil liberties (Freedom House)
Travel and accommodation
The contribution of mining to total exports in 2010 amounted to 1.5%
Swaziland Mining News
Source: CIA Factbook
Legend
Geology
The geology of Swaziland is dominated in the western and central part of the country by Precambrian (Archean) units belonging to the Swaziland and Pongola Supergroups and younger Neo-Archean granitoid intrusive suites located at the eastern edge of the Kaapval Craton. In the eastern part of the country along the border area with Mozambique, the basement units are overlapped by volcanosedimentary Karroo sequences. The oldest known unit is probably the Ngwane Gneiss which is succeeded by the tripartite Swaziland Supergroup that crop out within the Baberton Greenstone Belt in the northwest of the country.
Mining
Swaziland possesses resources of asbestos, coal, clay, and cassiterite, with minor gold and diamond deposits, as well as quarry stone, and talc but mining has declined in importance in recent years with only anthracite coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Ferrovanadium production ceased in 2005. In 2007 Swaziland was fourth largest coal producer in the African continent but with a 27.5 per cent decrease in output in 2008 it has now slipped to sixth in the rankings. Swaziland has an excellent potential for ceramic minerals, ie. kaolin,talc, silica and a variety of clays.
(Source: http://www.eisourcebook.org/)
(Source: http://www.eisourcebook.org/)
Maps and images
- Swaziland 250k topographical maps
- Swaziland Google Satellite Maps
- Swaziland Cities,Towns, Airports, Maps, Images
- Swaziland Geology
- Swaziland Image-1
- Swaziland Image-2
- Swaziland Image-3
- Swaziland minerals
- Swaziland Road Map
- Available geological maps (37)
- Available geophysical maps (4)
Gold in Swaziland
Gold Home
- There is no known gold mining industry, but the Irish company Kenmore Resources had two gold licences at Niassa(?), where test drills in 1996 inferred resources of 200,000 oz.
- Between 1996 and 1998, SouthernEra Resources explored the Daisy and Piggs Peak gold areas of northern Swaziland. Work included ground magnetics, geochemical soil sampling and the drilling of 9 diamond drill holes (1500m) for hydrothermal gold targets.
- Dwyka Diamonds Ltd (Australian, DWYKF.PK) announced on March 7, 2007, that it had signed a legally-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the shareholder of Swazi Gold Ventures (Pty) Ltd , the holder of 90% of the issued shares in Swaziland Gold (Pty) Ltd , which in turn owns the Swazigold project in Swaziland. The project is located in the Archaean Barberton Greenstone Belt that straddles the border between Mpumalanga Province, South Africa and Swaziland. Swazigold’s project area is 425km2. The licence area comprises more than 40km of strike length containing multiple mineralised structures and more than 40 gold showings. Historic detailed drilling has been restricted to the Wyldsdale, Lomati and Daisy prospects where cumulate drilling by previous owners is in excess of 13,000 metres. Based on encouraging exploration results, a 2,000m diamond-core drilling program had started at the end of 2007 on the Daisy, Kobolondo and Lufafa prospects. Three boreholes had been planned for the Kobolondo prospect to test a 600m strike length of a mineralised shear zone.
References
Economic geology of energy sources
- Explanatory notes to accompany sheet 2631 B.C. (13)
- Recent developments in coal petrophysics; Coal exploration; proceedings of the First international coal exploration symposium
Economic geology of nonmetal deposits
- Kaolin deposits of Swaziland; Kaolin deposits of the world; B, Oversea countries
- Sulfur isotopes in Swaziland system barites and the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere
- The nature of chrysotile asbestos occurrences in southern Africa; a review
- The nature of chrysotile asbestos occurrences in southern Africa; a review
Economic geology of ore deposits
- Analyses of rocks, minerals, ores and water
- Archean metallogeny in southern Africa
- Bauxite deposits in the SADC Region
- Diamonds in the SADC Region
- Heavy mineral sand deposits in the SADC Region
- Les mines de fer mondiales et la préparation des minerais - Afrique
- Possible Biological Origin of Precambrian Iron-Formations; Precambrian iron-formations of the world
- Swaziland; annual report of the Geological Survey and mines Department for the year ended 31st December 1959
- The composition of gold from the Barberton mountain land
- The geology of the gold mines and prospects at Horo, Pigg's Peak District
- The nickel-tungsten-gold deposits at Forbes Reef, Hhohho District
- The Usushwana igneous complex
Economic geology, general
- Bergbauliche Ressourcen im suedlichen Afrika unter Beruecksichtigung der Resources Diplomacy in den internationalen Beziehungen und in ihrer Auswinkung auf Europa. Mineral reosurces in southern Africa from the view of resources diplomacy in international relations and in its consequences for Europe
- List of working mines in the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Swaziland as at December 1968; lys van werkende myne in die republiek van Suid-Afrika en die koninkryk van Swaziland soos in Desember 1968
- List of working mines in the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Swaziland--Lys van werkende myne in die Republiek van Suid-Afrika en die Koninkryk van Swaziland
- Mineral development in Swaziland and the role of the Geological Survey and Mines Department (with notes on economic geology, mining legislation and taxation)
- Pyrophyllite occurring in the Mozaan series, Shiselweni District
- Report on two sillimanite-bearing zones occurring on lapsed mineral concession 50, Mahlangatsha area, Manzini District
- Status of mining activity in Swaziland; New directions in mineral development policies; report of an international workshop held at Bagauda, near Kano, Nigeria; 8-10 September 1975
- Swaziland
- Swaziland; annual report of the Geological Survey and mines Department for the year ended 31st December 1969
- The alumina, pyrophyllite and silica deposits in the Insuzi series, Mahlangatsha and Mkopeleli areas, Shiselweni and Manzini districts
- The kaolin occurrences in the Mahlangatsha mountains, Manzini District
- The Mhlosheni fluorspar deposit, mineral concession no. 31, Shiselweni District
- The mineral industry of other African areas
- The Mineral Industry of Other African Areas
- The mineral industry of other areas of Africa
- The mineral resources of Swaziland
- The origin of kaolin deposits, Mahlangatsha mountains, Swaziland
Economic geology, general, economics
- Financing African mining developments; Mining activity survey
- Les mines de fer mondiales et la préparation des minerais - Afrique
