Hydrochemical characterization of acute acid mine drainage at Iron Duke mine, Mazowe, Zimbabwe

 Acid mine drainage (AMD) with a minimum pH of 0.52 was recorded at Iron Duke mine near Mazowe, Zimbabwe during an investigation of the environmental geochemistry of mine waters in the Greenstone Belts of Zimbabwe. Hydrochemical data for waters emanating from the Iron Duke waste-rock pile indicate their super-saturation with respect to Fe and SO₄ ^2–. Extremely high dissolved concentrations of Al, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, V, Cr, Cd and As also prevail. Substantial losses of metals from solution occur within 400 m of the AMD source through the precipitation of crystalline sulphates, principally melanterite. Further downstream, hydrous oxide precipitation forms the dominant mechanism of metal attenuation in waters characteristically under-saturated with respect to Fe sulphates. Speciation and saturation index data generated using the equilibrium model WATEQ4F, suggest that such codes have broad utility for generic prediction of the mineralogical contraints on metal mobility in acute AMD systems. Major discrepancies between modelled and empirical hydrochemistries are, however, evident for super-saturated waters in which the kinetics of Fe precipitation are slow, and in which total ionic strengths markedly exceed their theoretical maximum. Received: 28 August 1998 · Accepted: 7 December 1998     

Rural Self-Reliance in Bondolfi, Zimbabwe: the role of beekeeping

Community-based economic self-reliance has become critical in many African countries because of the severity of prevailing soci-economic and environmental constraints. Concerns over food security have encouraged a re-evaluation of the importance of indigenous technical knowledge. This study examines a rural area in Zimbabwe where members of the local community have established a successful beekeeping association to improve their livelihoods. The history of the initiative, its broader impact on the community and the role played by external facilitation feature in the study.     

The distribution of inselbergs and their relationship to geomorphological, structural and lithological controls in Southern Zimbabwe

The gneissic-granitic basement of southern Zimbabwe is characterized by a wide variety of inselbergs, preferentially developed on the granitoid rocks. However, there are significant differences in the frequency of inselbergs and most inselbergs occur in the younger granitoid rocks, particularly in rocks with microcline as the dominant K-feldspar, but their distribution is not uniform. Completely isolated inselbergs are rare and most inselbergs are arranged in clusters or are associated with plateaus or they occur as the detached ends of spurs and ridges.Chemical and mineralogical investigations indicate significant differences in the composition of the older and younger granitoid rocks. The latter are characterized by a higher content of alkali feldspars and a lower content of plagioclase and mafic minerals.The influences of texture, fabric and fracture characteristics on the resistance of the rocks vary. In the southern part of the study area the majority of rock domes is associated with porphyritic granites and fine-grained granites, whilst inselbergs of the large batholith complexes in the northern part of the study area show virtually no relationships to the grain-size of the rocks.Thin-sections analysis indicate, that the rocks of the terrains with a higher density of inselbergs are characterized by an intense intergrowth of minerals and a higher number of contacts between quartz and alkali feldspars. Particularly in the case of the porphyritic granites the influence of texture on the frequency of rock domes is linked with two factors. These are a high content of microcline minerals that have filled the interstices of the surrounding mineral framework and enclosed the surrounding minerals. Overgrowths and replacement micro-structures indicate a long lasting crystallization, which appears to be responsible for a lower density of cooling fractures. Enclosure of the more vulnerable minerals in the more resistant microcline megacrysts retards the loosening of the rock constituents.The marked differences in the lithological and structural characteristics of the various granitoid rocks influence the weathering behaviour of the rocks and illustrate that the divergent weathering characteristics of the rocks are strongly dependent on lithological and structural factors.     

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite in diamond from Sese kimberlite (Zimbabwe) — evidence for metasomatic conditions of growth

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite K (Cr, Ti, Mg, Fe, Al)₁₂O₁₉, a potassium member of the magnetoplumbite mineral group, have been recorded in an octahedral macrodiamond from the Sese kimberlite (50 km south of Masvingo, Zimbabwe). One yimengite inclusion carries lamellae of chromite suggesting peridotitic diamond paragenesis. The diamond and inclusions were studied in situ in a plate polished parallel to (011). Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging has shown blue colour and octahedral zonation of the diamond, lack of cracks and the location of five yimengites in different growth zones. Nitrogen (N) contents (at. ppm) in the diamond determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) steadily decrease from 576 (core) to 146 (rim). N aggregation (%1aB) is correspondingly 40% in the core and 30% in the rim. Hydrogen (H) content is high in the core, moderate in the intermediate and very high in the rim zones. Four yimengites were dated using the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Three inclusions yielded total gas ages that agree with, or are younger than, or within error of, the Sese kimberlite eruption age (538±11 Ma) but may be compromised by gas loss. One inclusion, with the highest tapped interface gas yield, gave a total gas age of 892±21 Ma that is a likely minimum yimengite age. Time–T °C constraints from N aggregation systematics give a range of possible ages from kimberlite eruption date back to Archean and do not resolve the variable results of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Compared with the published chemistry of yimengite from kimberlites, inclusions from the Sese diamond contain higher Al, Mg, and Sr and have lower concentration of Fe³⁺. The chondrite-normalised REE pattern of the yimengite shows enrichment in LREE and depletion in HREE, but LREE/HREE fractionations are lower than for lindsleyite–mathiasite series mantle titanates and rather similar to the REE concentrations in kimberlite and lamproite rocks. It is suggested that Sese yimengite formed in the lithospheric mantle from metasomatism of chrome spinel by a fluid rich in Ti, K, Ba and LREE.     

Tracing the emerald origin by oxygen isotope data: the case of Sandawana,Zimbabwe

Given the wide range of oxygen isotopic composition of emerald from all over the world (δ¹⁸O between +6.2 and +24.7‰), the δ¹⁸O_V-SMOW values of emeralds from the Sandawana mines in Zimbabwe (δ¹⁸O‰=+6.6 to +8.0), are relatively constant, among the lowest ever measured. These consistently low values can be explained by host-rock buffering in a very narrow emerald-bearing reaction zone between ultrabasic greenstones (metamorphosed komatiites) and albitised pegmatites. δ¹⁸O values of Sandawana emeralds overlap those of emeralds from Brazil, Austria, Australia and Madagascar, a fact indicating that, in these cases, oxygen isotope composition alone is not sufficient to determine the geographic origin of commercially available emeralds. However, stones with overlapping δ¹⁸O values may eventually be identified using a combination of physical properties, inclusion characteristics and chemical composition. To cite this article: J.C. Zwaan et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

中南部非洲津巴布韦三级成矿区带划分

津巴布韦矿产资源丰富,赋存矿产30余种,是世界上黄金、铬、石棉、金刚石等矿种的重要生产国,是非洲第五大金资源国,其中具有优势的矿种包括金、铬铁矿、铂族元素、镍、煤、铁、铜、钴等。文章总结了津巴布韦区域成矿地质背景、矿产地质特征,结合相关成矿理论和成矿规律研究的新成果,对津巴布韦的成矿规律进行了初步研究,并进行成矿区带划分,共划分了10个Ⅲ级成矿区带。     

津巴布韦哈特利(Hartley)铂矿床地质特征及成因

文章对产于津巴布韦大岩墙内的哈特利(Hartley)铂矿床的地质特征和成因进行研究。津巴布韦大岩墙于新太古代侵入,在津巴布韦克拉通内形成南北段次级岩浆房格局。哈特利铂矿的铂族元素主要分布在杂岩体的中下部,与硫化物密切相关,主要含矿矿物为铋、碲矿物。在岩浆侵位的过程中发生结晶分异,形成了铂族元素和硫化物的垂向分带。哈特利矿床与中国金川等铂族元素矿床相比,其成岩成矿时代早,矿床特征、成矿元素组合方面均有明显不同。     

津巴布韦矿业投资环境

津巴布韦矿产资源非常丰富,铂族金属、金刚石生产在世界上占有重要地位。矿业是津巴布韦经济的重要支柱。近几年来矿业发展迅速,铂族金属、金刚石和金等重要矿产品的产量较大幅度增长。本文针对津巴布韦的矿业开发、矿业立法、税收政策等方面进行了较系统的介绍和分析,供有意赴津巴布韦投资矿业者参考。     

津巴布韦北东部Mutawatawa地区Chelsea East金矿床地质特征及成矿模式

Chelsea East金矿床位于津巴布韦北东部Dindi绿岩带之上,该区域是津巴布韦重要的贵金属和稀有金属矿产聚集区之一,其金矿勘查开发潜力巨大。矿床共圈定3个金矿体和8个贫金矿体,矿体一般呈似层状、脉状或透镜体状产出,主要位于新太古代Bulawayo群Ar3Yum组中,主要控矿构造为北西西—南东东向脆-韧性剪切构造带和脆性断层,矿体主要由含金构造蚀变岩组成,其次为石英脉等。本文在综合分析矿床地质特征、成矿控制因素和物理化学条件的基础之上,初步建立了矿床成矿模式。该矿床的形成至少表现为两阶段成矿,即早期的区域动力变质变形阶段和后期的区域构造岩浆活动阶段。     

Decentralising Zimbabwe’s water management: The case of Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme

Smallholder irrigation schemes are largely supply driven such that they exclude the beneficiaries on the management decisions and the choice of the irrigation schemes that would best suit their local needs. It is against this background that the decentralisation framework and the Dublin Principles on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) emphasise the need for a participatory approach to water management. The Zimbabwean government has gone a step further in decentralising the management of irrigation schemes, that is promoting farmer managed irrigation schemes so as to ensure effective management of scarce community based land and water resources. The study set to investigate the way in which the Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme is managed with specific emphasis on the role of the Irrigation Management Committee (IMC), the level of accountability and the powers devolved to the IMC. Merrey’s 2008 critique of IWRM also informs this study which views irrigation as going beyond infrastructure by looking at how institutions and decision making processes play out at various levels including at the irrigation scheme level. The study was positioned on the hypothesis that ‘decentralised or autonomous irrigation management enhances the sustainability and effectiveness of irrigation schemes’. To validate or falsify the stated hypothesis, data was gathered using desk research in the form of reviewing articles, documents from within the scheme and field research in the form of questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews and field observation. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse data quantitatively, whilst content analysis was utilised to analyse qualitative data whereby data was analysed thematically. Comparative analysis was carried out as Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme was compared with other smallholder irrigation scheme’s experiences within Zimbabwe and the Sub Saharan African region at large. The findings were that whilst the scheme is a model of a decentralised entity whose importance lies at improving food security and employment creation within the community, it falls short in representing a downwardly accountable decentralised irrigation scheme. The scheme is faced with various challenges which include its operation which is below capacity utilisation, absence of specialised technical human personnel to address infrastructural breakdowns, uneven distribution of water pressure, incapacitated Irrigation Management Committee (IMC), absence of a locally legitimate constitution, compromised beneficiary participation and unclear lines of communication between various institutions involved in water management. Understanding decentralization is important since one of the key tenets of IWRM is stakeholder participation which the decentralization framework interrogates.