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Location: 217 km NE from Upington, South Africa
1 Peperboom Avenue, Northern CapeHotazelSouth Africa8490
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South African manganese deposits are currently confined to the Early Proterozoic Transvaal Supergroup, Northern Cape Province. They can be grouped into two major categories: 1. Syngenetic carbonate-rich manganese deposits interbedded with the banded iron formations (BIF) of the Hotazel Formation, colloquially called the Kalahari Manganese Field. 2. Karst-fill type manganiferous material from residual Fe-rich manganese developed in dolomites of the Campbell Rand Subgroup in the Postmasburg Fe-Mn Fields. The Kalahari Manganese Field is situated within a structural basin, known as the Dimoten Synclinorium, plunging at an angle of 3° to 8° to the north and northwest. It extends from Mamatwan Mine in the south for approximately 40 km to Wessels Mine in the north, with an east-west extent varying between 5 and 15 km.Local GeologyWessels Mine extracts high grade (above 47% Mn) manganese ore. The ore is typically coarse grained, shiny, massive or vuggy, with the principal minerals being hausmannite and braunite II (Wessels-type ore), as opposed to primary, lower grade braunite further to the south in the Kalahari Basin (Mamatwan-type ore). The current interpretation is that the Wessels-type ore was formed by hydrothermal alteration of primary Mamatwan-type ore and that the alteration took place along a system of post-Olifantshoek, north-south and east-west striking normal faults.
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