Characteristics of diamondiferous Plio-Pleistocene littoral deposits within the palaeo-Orange River mouth, Namibia

Ore Geology Reviews

Volumn 28, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 475-492

  Spaggiari, R I ^a   Bluck, B J ^b   Ward, J D ^c  

^a Namdeb Diamond Corporation   (Namibia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW   (United Kingdom)

^c De Beers Group   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Gravel; Marine diamond placer; Namibia; Orange River; Plio Pleistocene

Indexed keywords

DIAMOND DISTRIBUTION; LITTORAL DEPOSITS; MARINE DIAMOND PLACER; NAMIBIA;

BEACHES; GEOCHRONOLOGY; GRAVEL; PLACERS; SEDIMENTOLOGY; SEDIMENTS;

DIAMOND DEPOSITS;

ALLUVIAL DEPOSIT; DIAMOND; GRAVEL; INTERTIDAL ENVIRONMENT; PLACER DEPOSIT;

AFRICA; NAMIBIA; ORANGE RIVER; SOUTHERN AFRICA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

EID: 33645915755     PISSN: 01691368     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2005.03.011     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. Aizawa M., Bluck B., Cartwright J., Milner S., Swart R., and Ward J. Constraints on the geomorphological evolution of Namibia from the offshore stratigraphic record. Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia 12 (2000) 337-346
2. Apollus, L., 1995. The distribution of diamonds on a Late Cainozoic gravel beach, southwestern Namibia. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Department of Geology and Applied Geology, University of Glasgow. 170 pp.
3. Bagguley, J.G., 1996. The application of seismic and sequence stratigraphy to the post-rift megasequence, offshore Namibia. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Oxford-Brookes University. 370 pp.
4. Birch G.F., Day R.W., and Du Plessis A. Nearshore Quaternary sediments on the west coast of southern Africa. Geological Survey of South Africa, Bulletin 101 (1991) 1-14
5. Blair T.C. Sedimentology of gravelly Lake Lahontan highstand shoreline deposits, Churchill Butte, Nevada, USA. Sedimentary Geology 123 (1999) 199-218
6. Bluck B.J. Sedimentation of beach gravels: examples from South Wales. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 37 (1967) 128-156
7. Bluck B.J. Clast assembling, bed forms and structure in gravel beaches. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Earth Sciences 89 (1999) 291-323
8. Bluck B.J., Ward J.D., and Spaggiari R.I. Gravel beaches of southern Namibia. In: Packham J.R., Randall R.E., Barnes R.S.K., and Neal A. (Eds). Ecology and Geomorphology of Coastal Shingle (2001), Westbury Academic and Scientific Publishing, Otley, West Yorkshire, U.K. 56-76
9. Carr A.P. The growth of Orford Spit: cartographic and historical evidence from the sixteen century. Geographical Journal 135 (1969) 28-29
10. Corbett, I.B., 1989. The sedimentology of the diamondiferous deflation deposits, Namibia. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Cape Town. 430 pp.
11. Corbett I.B. A review of diamondiferous marine deposits of western southern Africa. Africa Science Review 3 (1996) 1-18
12. Cornell F.C. Reprinted 1992. The Glamour of Prospecting (1920), Creda Press (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town 336 pp.
13. Davis J.L. Geographical Variation in Coastal Development (1972), Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh 204 pp.
14. De Beer, C.H., Gresse, P.G., Theron, J.N., Almond, J.E., 2002. The Geology of the Calvinia area. Explanation of 1:250,000-scale map sheet 3118 Calvinia. Council for Geoscience, South Africa. 92 pp.
15. De Decker R.H. The wave regime on the inner shelf south of the Orange River and its implications for sediment transport. South African Journal of Geology 91 (1988) 358-371
16. De Wit M.J.C. Post-Gondwana drainage and the development of diamond placers in west South Africa. Economic Geology 94 (1999) 721-740
17. Dingle R.V., Siesser W.G., and Newton A.R. Mesozoic and Tertiary geology of southern Africa (1983), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam 375 pp.
18. Gresse P.G. Washover boulder fans and reworked phosphorite in the Alexander Bay Formation. South African Journal of Geology 91 (1988) 391-398
19. Grey C.E.D., Meadows M.E., Lee-Thorp J.E., and Rogers J. Characterising the Namaqualand mud belt of southern Africa. Palynology and Palaeoenvironments. Southern African Geographical Journal 82 (2000) 137-142
20. Gurney J.J., Moore R.O., Otter M.L., Kirkley M.B., Hops J.J., and Mc Candless T.E. Southern African Kimberlites and their Xenoliths. In: Kampunzu A.B., and Lubala R.T. (Eds). Magmatism in Extensional Structural Settings (1991), Springer-Verlag, Berlin 495-536
21. Hallam C.D. The geology of the coastal diamond deposits of southern Africa (1959). In: Haughton S.H. (Ed). The Geology of Some Ore Deposits in Southern Africa vol. 2 (1964), Geological Society of South Africa 671-729
22. Hay W.W., and Brock J.C. Temporal variation in intensity of upwelling off southwest Africa. In: Summerhays C.P., Prell W.L., and Emeis K.C. (Eds). Upwelling Systems: Evolution since the Early Miocene. Geological Society of London Special Publication vol. 63 (1992) 463-497
23. Hiroki Y., and Masuda F. Gravelly spit deposits in a transgressive systems tract: the Pleistocene Higashikanbe gravel, central Japan. Sedimentology 47 (2000) 135-149
24. Jacob, J., 2001. Late Proterozoic bedrock geology and its influence on Neogene littoral marine diamondiferous trapsites, MA1 - Sperrgebiet, Namibia. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, University of Cape Town. 140 pp.
25. Jacob R.J., Bluck B.J., and Ward J.D. Tertiary-age diamondiferous fluvial deposits of the Lower Orange River Valley, southwestern Africa. Economic Geology 94 (1999) 749-758
26. Jacob R.J., Bluck B.J., and Ward J.D. Incision and aggradation in the Orange River valley, southwestern Africa. 7th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, University of Nebraska, August 2001, Abstract Volume (2001) 138
27. Kaiser, E., 1926. Die Diamentenwürste Südwestafrikas. Deitrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen), Berlin. Volumes 1 and 2. 535 pp.
28. Maejima W. Texture and stratification of gravelly beach sediments. Japan Journal of Geoscience 25 (1982) 35-51
29. Marais, J.A.H., Agenbacht, A.L.D., Prinsloo, M., Basson, W.A., 2001. The geology of the Springbok area. Explanation of 1:250,000-scale map sheet 2916 Springbok. Council for Geoscience, South Africa. 103 pp.
30. Massari F., and Parea G.C. Progradational gravel bed sequences in a moderate-to-high energy, micro-tidal environment. Sedimentology 35 (1988) 881-913
31. Merensky H. The diamond deposits of Lüderitzland, German South West Africa. Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 12 (1909) 13-23
32. Neal A., Dackcombe R.V., and Roberts C.L. Applications of ground penetrating radar (GPR) to the study of coarse clastic (shingle) coastal structures. In: Packham J.R., Randall R.E., Barnes R.S.K., and Neal A. (Eds). Ecology and Geomorphology of Coastal Shingle (2001), Westbury Academic and Scientific Publishing, Otley, West Yorkshire, U.K. 77-106
33. Nielsen L.H., Johannessen P.N., and Surlyk F. A Late Pleistocene coarse-grained spit-platform sequence in Northern Jytland, Denmark. Sedimentology 35 (1988) 915-937
34. Oosterveld M.M. Evaluation of alluvial diamond deposits. . Workshop: alluvial diamonds in South Africa, 2 April 2003, Johannesburg. Directorate of Professional Programmes of the Geological Society of South Africa (2003), Geological Society of South Africa 17 pp.
35. Orford J.D. Discrimination of particle zonation on a pebble beach. Sedimentology 22 (1975) 441-463
36. Orford J.D., and Carter R.W.G. Crestal overtop and overwash sedimentation on a fringing sandy gravel barrier coast, Carnsore Point, southeast Ireland. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 52 (1982) 265-278
37. Orford J.D., Carter R.W.G., and Jennings S.G. Coarse clastic barrier environments: Evolution and implications for Quaternary sea level interpretation. Quaternary International 9 (1991) 87-104
38. Orford J.D., Jennings S.C., and Forbes D.L. Origin, development, reworking and breakdown of gravel-dominated coastal barriers in Atlantic Canada: future scenarios for the British coast. In: Packham J.R., Randall R.E., Barnes R.S.K., and Neal A. (Eds). Ecology and Geomorphology of Coastal Shingle (2001), Westbury Academic and Scientific Publishing, Otley, West Yorkshire, U.K. 23-55
39. Pether J. Late Tertiary and early Quaternary marine deposits of the Namaqualand coast, Cape Province: new perspectives. South African Journal Science 82 (1986) 464-470
40. Pether, J., 1994. The sedimentology, palaeontology and stratigraphy of coastal-plain deposits at Hondeklip Bay, Namaqualand, South Africa. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, University of Cape Town. 313 pp.
41. Pether J., Roberts D.L., and Ward J.D. Deposits of the West Coast. In: Partridge T.C., and Maud R.R. (Eds). The Cenozoic of Southern Africa (2000), Oxford University Press 33-49
42. Pickford M., Senut B., Mein P., Gommery D., Morales J., Soria D., Nieto M., and Ward J. Preliminary results of new excavations at Arrisdrift, Middle Miocene of southern Namibia. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (Series IIA, Earth and Planetary Science) vol. 322 (1996) 991-996
43. Pickford M., Senut B., Mein P., Morales J., Soria D., Nieto M., Ward J., and Bamford M. The discovery of Lower and Middle Miocene vertebrates at Auchas, southern Namibia. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (Series IIA, Earth and Planetary Science) vol. 322 (1996) 901-906
44. Postma G., and Nemec W. Regressive and transgressive sequences in a raised Holocene gravelly beach, Southwestern Crete. Sedimentology 27 (1990) 907-920
45. Pye K. The nature and geomorphology of coastal shingle. In: Packham J.R., Randall R.E., Barnes R.S.K., and Neal A. (Eds). Ecology and Geomorphology of Coastal Shingle (2001), Westbury Academic and Scientific Publishing, Otley, West Yorkshire, U.K. 2-22
46. Rogers J. Sedimentation on the Continental Margin off the Orange River and the Namib Desert: Bulletin Geological Survey and /University of Cape Town Marine Geoscience Unit 7 (1977) 212 pp.
47. Rogers J., Pether J., Molyneux R., Genis G., Kilham J.L.C., Cooper G., and Corbett I.B. Cenozoic Geology and Mineral Deposits Along the West Coast of South Africa and the Sperrgebiet: Guidebook, Geocongress '90 (1990), Geological Society of South Africa PR1. 111 pp.
48. Rossouw, J., 1981. Wave conditions at Oranjemund: summary of wave rider data March 1976-April 1980. Unpublished Report, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Stellenbosch, T/SEA 8106, 1-4.
49. Schneider G.I.C., and Miller R.McG. Diamonds. The Mineral Resources of Namibia. 1st edition (1992), Ministry of Mines and Energy, Windhoek, Namibia 5.1-1-5.1-32
50. Serrane M. Early Oligocene stratigraphic turnover on the west Africa continental margin: a signature of the Tertiary greenhouse-to-icehouse transition?. Terra Nova 11 (1999) 135-140
51. Sherman D.J., Oxford J.D., and Carter R.W.G. Development of cusp-related, gravel size and shape facies at Malin Head, Ireland. Sedimentology 40 (1993) 1139-1152
52. Siesser W.G., and Dingle R.V. Tertiary sea-level movements around southern Africa. Journal of Geology 89 (1981) 83-96
53. South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS), 1980. Stratigraphy of South Africa, Kent, L.E. (Compiler): Part 1. Lithostratigraphy of the Republic of South Africa, South West Africa/Namibia, and the Republics of Bophutatswana, Transkei and Venda. Handbook of the Geological Survey of South Africa 8. 690 pp.
54. Spaggiari R.I., Bluck B.J., and Ward J.D. Beaches, barriers and bars: sedimentary facies of Early Pleistocene diamondiferous deposits within the Orange River mouth, Namibia. In: Lee-Thorp J., and Clift H. (Eds). The Environmental Background to Hominid Evolution, XV International Congress International Union for Quaternary Research, 3-11 August 1999, Durban, South Africa, Abstract Volume (1999) 169-170
55. Spaggiari R.I., Ward J.D., and Bluck B.J. Quaternary diamond bearing beaches of southern Namibia. IAS 16th International Sedimentology Congress, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, July 2002. Abstract Volume (2002) 341
56. Steers J.A. The Culbin Sands and Burghead Bay. Geographical Journal 90 (1937) 498-528
57. Stocken, C.G., 1978. A review of the later Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits of the Sperrgebiet. Unpublished Report, Consolidated Diamond Mines of South West Africa (Pty) Ltd. 38 pp.
58. Sutherland D.G. The transport and sorting of diamonds by fluvial and marine processes. Economic Geology 77 (1982) 1613-1620
59. Van Wyk J.P., and Pienaar L.F. Diamondiferous gravels of the Lower Orange River, Namaqualand. In: Anhaeusser C.R., and Maske S. (Eds). Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa vol. II (1986), Geological Society of South Africa 2309-2321
60. Ward J.D. The Cenozoic succession in the Kuiseb Valley, central Namib Desert. Geological Survey of South West Africa/Namibia Memoir 9 (1987) (124 pp.)
61. Ward J.D., and Bluck B.J. The Orange River: 100 million years of fluvial evolution in southern Africa. 6th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, September 1997, Abstract Volume (1997) 222
62. Ward J.D., Van der Westhuizen A., Jacob R.J., Apollus L., Spaggiari R.I., and Nicholas G. West Coast Field Excursion. 7th International Kimberlite Conference (1998), University of Cape Town, South Africa 23 pp.
63. Ward J.D., Jacob R.J., De Wit M.C.J., Spaggiari R.I., and Bluck B.J. Post-Gondwana evolution of the Vaal-Orange drainage system: economic implications. Excursion Guide, 16th International Sedimentological Conference (2002), Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa 75 pp.
64. Wickens H.deV., and McLachlan I.R. The stratigraphy and sedimentology of the reservoir interval of the Kudu 9A-2 and 9A-3 boreholes. Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia 6 (1990) 9-22
65. Williams A.F. The Genesis of the Diamond Vol. II (1932), E. Benn, Ltd., London 636 pp.
66. Williams A.T., and Caldwell N.E. Particle size and shape in pebble beach sedimentation. Marine Geology 82 (1988) 199-215