Geology hike

With interests in history and geology, Ron and I have appreciated learning much about this vast continent during the past year. For three hours on a Saturday morning in mid September we participated in a group hike of Melville Koppies ("small hills") Nature Reserve. Situated in the heart of Johannesburg and surrounded by neighborhoods, the geology of this area dates back 3 billion years and exhibits some of the oldest rocks on the planet.

The conserved ridges are covered entirely with indigenous vegetation of highveld grasses, flowers and trees and appear as they were prior to area's 1886 gold discovery. They have yielded artifacts of early stone age man and iron age immigrants. The final photo shows remains of one of two furnaces used to smelt iron from ore dating 1860 CE.

Our tour guide was Kim Ncube-Hein, personable and easy-going Chamber of Mines Chair and Professor of Mining Geology, WITS University, Johannesburg. It was a fascinating morning's walk.