Contextualizing the use of biblically derived and metaphysical imagery in the work of Black artists from KwaZulu-Natal : c1930-2002.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.As art historians uncover the many sources and catalysts that have contributed to the emergence of black contemporary art in South Africa, one of the principal influences is that derived from the Christian mission churches and breakaway separatist groups - the African Independent Churches (AICs). Histories of African art have failed adequately to consider the art that emerged from these contexts, regarding it perhaps as too coerced and distinctive – merely religious art subject to the rigours of liturgical or proselytizing function. The purpose of this dissertation is to foreground this art and its position in the development of both pioneer and contemporary South African art and to identify the many features, both stylistic and thematic, which distinguish this work

The isimodeni style: traditional beadwork, Zulu trinket or, South African sartorial tradition on Durban’s Golden Mile?

Beadwork is a well-documented aspect of the socio-political culture of isiZulu-speaking groupings in Southern Africa. Whilst scholarship on beadwork deals largely with the denotative and connotative value it offers wearers, this article’s contribution relates both to its commodification and apolitical value by confronting a general assumption that a beadwork style known as isimodeni (modern beadwork), produced as a trinket for tourists along Durban’s racially stratified Golden Mile since the 1960s, is an authentic representation of a Zulu material culture. The paper probes how traditional beadwork and rickshaw rides (with both highly decorated carts and pullers) were earmarked by tourism officials of the time as commodities that could serve a demand for colourful exoticism and accessible “Zulu” culture. Methodologically, the article draws on the visual analysis of beaded artefacts and photographs, in addition to ethnographic data derived from unstructured interviews with beadworkers on the Durban beachfront, to examine how a beadwork tradition transformed into a “Zulu” tourism commodity, and then transmuted into a nationalised form of ethnic identity and sartorial tradition

In-mine (tunnel-to-tunnel) electrical resistance tomography in South African platinum mines

The applicability of tunnel-to-tunnel electrical resistance tomography (ERT) for imaging disruptive geological structures ahead of mining, in an igneous platinum mining environment is assessed. The geophysical targets of interest are slump structures or ‘potholes’ that disrupt the lateral continuity of the thin, tabular platinum orebodies of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa. The study involves a combination of model studies, laboratory property measurements and trial surveys. The property studies indicate that the problem reduces to the challenging scenario of a high-resistivity background (orebody horizon) in which an even more resistive target (pothole) is embedded. The model studies show that ERT can potentially image disruptive potholes ahead of mining. It is further demonstrated that the 2D approach can generally be used as a reconnaissance tool but that a variety of 3D effects need to be considered and, in some instances, appropriate corrections should be applied. 3D scenarios that are considered include targets with limited extent perpendicular to the image plane, targets with a relatively small volume and targets that are asymmetrical about the image plane. Other 2D model assumption violations considered include the effect of tunnels and multi-layered backgrounds. Finally, results from an experimental in-mine survey are included to illustrate that ERT can be used to detect and delineate potholes ahead of mining

Geological variations in the Merensky Reef at Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine and its influence on flotation performance

The Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex of South Africa is marked by prominent lateral and vertical variations in its geology, platinum group element grade distribution and platinum group mineralogy. At Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine on the western limb of the complex eleven distinct Merensky Reef facies have been identified. The reef facies show different mineral processing behaviour. Detailed geometallurgical characterisation of three reef facies (FW 1A contact, FW 3 pothole and pothole edge reef facies) at Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine has been carried out in an attempt to understand differences in flotation performance. Results illustrate that the FW 1A contact facies has the best Pt and Pd grades and recoveries in the flotation concentrates and the pothole edge facies has the worst. The differences are related not only to mineralogical and textural characteristics of the platinum group minerals and base metal sulphides in the different facies, but also pertain to the geological position and the mineralogy of the host rocks that are introduced as dilution to achieve a realistic mining cut