The occurrence of potentially hazardous trace elements in five Highveld coals, South Africa

Permian coals of the southern hemisphere are generally considered to contain lower concentrations of sulfides, halogens, and trace elements when compared to northern hemisphere Carboniferous coals. Few studies have considered the trace element content in South African coals, and little or no work has been published for Highveld coals. Of the nineteen coal fields in South Africa, the Highveld coal field is one of the nine currently producing, and is second largest in terms of production. Five run of mine samples and a high ash middlings product from the Number 4 Lower seam were analyzed, totaling six sample sets. Fourteen trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, V, and Zn) were selected for this study based on the global perception that these elements may be hazardous to human health and/or the environment when they are released during coal utilization. Several sample preparation techniques were tested using certified reference materials (SARMs 18, 19 and 20) to determine the most repeatable technique for these coals. The samples were analyzed by ICP-AES and CVAA (Hg only). Microwave digestion proved to be generally unreliable despite the utilization of several different methods. A slurry direct injection method into the ICP-AES provided good correlations with the reference material, but requires further development to enhance the confidence level in this relatively unexplored technique. Samples prepared based on three ASTM standards for the determination of trace elements in coal provided repeatable results in most instances, and were the preparation methods utilized for the Highveld coals.The trace element values determined for the Highveld coals are generally in good agreement with values available in literature for South African coals, with the exception of Hg, Mn and Cr. Hg values reported here are lower, Cr and Mn higher. Results generally agree well with analyses on the same samples conducted by the United States Geological Survey. When considering the global ranges for trace elements, the Highveld range values are within Swaine's range boundaries with the exception of Cr. Compared to the cited global average values for the fourteen trace elements determined, the values obtained for the Highveld coals generally fall below or well below these average values, with the exception of Cr and Mn. Concentrations of Cd and Cu are lower compared to global average values, and As, Mo, Pb, Se, Sb, and Zn can be considered low to very low. Arsenic is ten times lower compared to typical USA values. Concentrations of Co and Ni are similar to global averages, with V and Hg being very slightly higher. The middlings samples reported higher concentrations of most elements, related to the higher ash content of these samples. Of interest, the chalcophile elements determined are all depleted in the Highveld coals compared to global averages, and the siderophile elements are enriched or comparable to global averages.Risk-based health studies in the USA on coals with similar or higher Hg and significantly higher As contents have not reported negative health effects, and therefore it could be assumed that the mobilization of these trace elements from the five Highveld coals are unlikely to cause human health problems. Work is ongoing to determine the modes of occurrence of these HAPs and to address the partitioning behaviors and speciation states of these elements during coal utilization.     

Language change in South Africa: A geographical perspective

In the changing multi-ethnic South African society of the nineties, language planning has become a top priority on the national agenda of reform. Comprehension of the territorial dimensions of language is crucial if we are to penetrate its true cultural, economic and political effect. South Africa's language policy, as defined in the interim constitution, focuses mainly on the fact that in future the country will accommodate eleven official languages with equal status. Obviously, the nine provinces do not each have eleven official languages. A provincial legislative may, by a two-thirds majority vote, declare any of the national languages a provincial official language for the whole province or a part thereof. In the light of this it is of vital importance that the country's regional language patterns be analysed on a geographical basis. A visual and statistical representation of the geolinguistic realities in South Africa could support the planning and transformation process currently taking place at all levels of government in this multilingual country. The aim of this paper is to address the following geolinguistic issues on a national scale:

• The spatial identification of the official language distribution on a macro level;
• The time-space pattern of language change between 1980 and 1991;
• The demographic and socio-economic profile of language speakers;
• The consequences of the findings for ethno-linguistic restructuring in a post-apartheid South Africa.

The analysis of the 37 million people's first home languages in South Africa has been accomplished by utilizing an ARC/INFO Geographical Information System linked with the 374 statistical districts. Although the country is ethnically and culturally very diverse, three language groups, namely isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, dominate the linguistic scene. Their respective distribution patterns are fairly segregated within specific regions, while their relative change patterns are substantially influenced by urbanization trends and political restructuring.     

The effects of inequality on total factor productivity across districts in South Africa: a spatial econometric analysis

GeoJournal - This study builds on the fundamentals of the new economic geography and the skill-biased technological change argument, to empirically investigate whether increasing income/earning...     

Invisible towns: A case study in the cartography of South Africa

Many large Black settlements are downgraded or made invisible on maps of South Africa. This form of subjective generalisation gives a false prominence to small White towns. A more realistic map of the major settlements in South Africa is presented. The problems associated with mapping of Black settlements are discussed. These include the lack of census data, absence of official recognition of places, difficulties of place naming and the lack of functional imcomparability with other places.     

Sediment yield in South Africa — A preliminary geographical analysis

The study examines the spatial relationships between sediment yield and 15 independent environmental variables in 54 catchments in South Africa. Rooseboom's (1978) data on the sediment yield from the catchments were standardized for a single time period. Bivariate regression analyses reveal no simple relationships. Multivariate regression analyses conducted for the whole and various sub-areas of South Africa indicate that latitude and longitude are the primary variables affecting spatial variations in sediment yield. This may be as a result of latitude and longitude being surrogate variables reflecting variation in other environmental variables (e. g. geology, vegetation). Within the sub-areas, 43.4% to 97.8% of the variation in sediment yield is explained by the combined variation in a number of different environmental variables. This study highlights a need for the collection and analysis of more sediment yield data, which would allow the analyses to be refined, to predict sediment yields from ungauged catchments in South Africa.     

南海灾害地质类型及分区

"地质灾害”和"灾害地质”是两个既有联系,又有区别的术语.地质灾害即由地质因素引起的自然灾害.地质灾害是做为自然灾害的种类提出来的.灾害地质系指对人类生命财产能够造成危害的地质因素,包括某些地质体和地质作用.灾害地质是做为地质学的一个新的应用分支提出来的.我们在进行南海1∶250万灾害地质编图和区域灾害地质环境评价时,本着既考虑灾害地质动力性质,又考虑它们出现的空间部位,以及简单实用,方便研究部署和政府管理的原则,将南海灾害地质划分为构造的、海岸的、海底的和浅层的四大类.灾害地质分区既是调查研究成果,也是研究的方法手段.根据灾害地质环境区域分异情况,主要灾种及其组合特征,以及潜在危险性等,将南海分为4个灾害地质区;即海岸带灾害地质区、大陆架灾害地质区、大陆(岛)坡灾害地质区、中央海盆灾害地质区,然后再划分若干亚区.     

A Bayesian/maximum-entropy view to the spatial estimation problem

The purpose of this paper is to stress the importance of a Bayesian/maximum-entropy view toward the spatial estimation problem. According to this view, the estimation equations emerge through a process that balances two requirements: High prior information about the spatial variability and high posterior probability about the estimated map. The first requirement uses a variety of sources of prior information and involves the maximization of an entropy function. The second requirement leads to the maximization of a so-called Bayes function. Certain fundamental results and attractive features of the proposed approach in the context of the random field theory are discussed, and a systematic spatial estimation scheme is presented. The latter satisfies a variety of useful properties beyond those implied by the traditional stochastic estimation methods.     

A dynamic spatial diffusion model: an application to the kibbutz industry in Israel

A simple dynamic spatial diffusion model is suggested using the hitherto unreferred to concept ofinnovation adoption disparity between adoption units. Such disparity is an outcome of spatial variations in information flow caused by differential distances. The model is structured around the relationship between adoption disparity and distance in a temporal context. An application of the model to the diffusion of industrialization among Kibbutzim in Israel demonstrates its usefulness as a basic conceptual framework for understanding spatial difcesses. A possible extension of the model to inncorporate elements of the logistic curve is also proposed. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** ABI02060 00004     

Neoliberalism and privatisation in South Africa

Perhaps the defining characteristic of development as a global discourse is its neoliberal character. Even recently liberated nations such as South Africa have not escaped its reach. In South Africa, there has been a movement from a development policy with a socialist resonance – the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) – to one decidedly neoliberal in form and substance – the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy. The articulation of neoliberalism through development policy is being facilitated through a series of measures among which are fiscal austerity, export oriented production and the privatisation of public sector services. While the GEAR policy, as a macroeconomic framework, is being contested by labour unions it is privatisation which is facing widespread opposition among communities. My intention is twofold, firstly, to investigate how neoliberalism as a global hegemonic discourse has succeeded in capturing, colonising and repackaging the development imaginary of the African National Congress (ANC). Secondly, I wish to examine how privatisation as a sub-discourse of neoliberalism is being articulated in the historically black township of Chatsworth, in Durban. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Earth Science Education in South Africa

Most of the statistics given in this overview of the history and current status of Geoscience Education in South Africa pertain to the more geologically inclined disciplines; while the report does mention the extent to which earth sciences are taught in mining and geography departments, no detailed information about these activities are given. There are 13 active geoscience departments countrywide (eleven at universities and two at technical institutions) teaching a wide range of geological topics, some at a highly specialised level. There are just over 100 academic staff members engaged in teaching, supported by 65 technical and administrative staff. Of the teaching staff, 89% have Ph.D. degrees, and most are engaged in active research. About 150 three-year B.Sc., slightly fewer B.Sc. (Hons.), graduates, plus 10 geological technicians pass through the system every year, with most finding employment in the mining industry. Approximately 120 M.Sc. and 60 Ph.D. candidates are currently registered at the universities, about 40% of whom graduate in any particular year.     

Evolution of landforms in South Africa

Book reviewed in this article:
David M. Helgren: Rivers of Diamonds. An Alluvial History of rhe Lower Vaal Basin, South Africa     

National identity in South Africa: the search for harmony

The history of South Africa shows that different approaches have been employed to develop South African national identities. These approaches, however, could not produce a single national identity. When the Government of National Unity (GNU) came to power after the first democratic national elections in April 1994, a new chapter was opened for the country to search for a new South Africanism. This paper attempts to give an overview of the nationalisms which dominated the politics of the Union and the Republic of South Africa. The overview is intended to provide the reader with the background for understanding the efforts by the GNU to build a new post-apartheid national identity. The central focus of the paper is the changing bases on which a South African nationhood was/is built.     

Mobilizing the ethical consumer in South Africa

This paper presents a critical engagement with current initiatives for ethically-labeled goods in South Africa, thus offering an intervention in a literature on ethical consumption that has previously prioritized the global North. Through an interview-based methodology supported by focus groups in the Western Cape, the paper attends specifically to the strategies shaping recent forms of ethical consumption in South Africa on the part of business and civil society. Campaigns and strategies associated with three of the most prominent ethical labeling initiatives in South Africa—Proudly South African, Fairtrade Label South Africa and the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI)—are evaluated. Barnett et al.’s (2011: 90) notion of “mobilizing the ethical consumer” is brought into conversation with ethical consumption literature on local embeddedness in order to assess the ways in which the organizations responsible for these initiatives combine globalizing business and political networks of responsibility with local institutions and values in South Africa. The role played by the discursive construction of a growing South African ‘middle class’ is also acknowledged as part of the process of encouraging ethical consumption on the part of these actors. In conclusion, it is suggested that understanding ethical consumption in South Africa, as elsewhere, requires sensitivity to both transnational networks of globalizing responsibility and localized expressions of ethical consumption.     

Engineering petrology for roads in South Africa

The thirty different types of rock used by engineers in South Africa for road construction are described and the suitability of these rocks, and their weathering products, for road construction is discussed in the light of the South African geology and climate. Unconsolidated windblown sand, alluvial deposits and soil are not included.

The thirty types of rocks are divided into nine groups according to their petrological and road engineering properties. In some cases this grouping cuts across the traditional genetic classification of rocks.

Special attention is drawn to the importance of quartz in determining the quality and durability of rock to be used as aggregate in road construction.     

Energy resources and utilization in South Africa

South Africa presents the development planner with a challenging problem of energy planning, because the country's large indigenous deposits of fuels (coal, uranium) combined with a demand for imported energy (petroleum products). Coal is South Africa's basic primary energy source and is transformed into a variety of locally used secondary forms, among which thermal electricity and liquid fuels are vitally important. Prospecting for hydrocarbons on the Agulhas Bank off the southern Cape coast has, on the other hand, not been succesful. Both coal and uranium promise to become important export commodities, while the percentage share of imported petroleum products is expected to decrease towards 2000. There is nevertheless an urgent need for an energy policy which will optimise utilization.     

Identification of network cities in South Africa

GeoJournal - Settlements, cities and regions function as integrated systems. This resulted in the creation of functional connections and when linked, networks within which trade occurred. This...     

Towards sustainable agriculture in post-apartheid South Africa

This paper assesses the possibility of sustainable agriculture in South Africa in the context of recent policy initiatives. The new environmental strategy for agriculture represents a significant break with policy initiatives developed during apartheid. The likelihood of sustainable farming practices being adopted in South Africa will, however, face at least three obstacles. These are the integrated structure of industrial farming, the concern over yields, and current political and economic changes in South African agriculture. It is argued that sustainable techniques are unlikely to develop in the large scale farming sector in the near future. If the considerable research and extension resources of the state are reoriented quickly enough, sustainable farming methods can be embraced by an emerging class of black commercial farmers.