Some distance below the surface the hot magma encountered groundwater, which was immediately flushed into steam. The following is a list of namibia gems and minerals listed in our database. Source rock characterization in frontier basins a global approach article pdf available in first break 3611. This chapter is proposed to give the principal learning on the application of the formation of petroleum source rocks and hydrocarbon generation to exploration activities. Since then we have, without exaggeration, reached a number of important milestones in our development. Ours is now a country known for its institutionalised democracy, peace and stability, and a wellmanaged economy. Industries include manufacturing, industrial, and energy, medical and infrastructure development. A petroleum source rock is defined as any rock that has the capability to generate.
Petroleum commissioner at the namibian ministry of mines and energy, she is very aware of the. In the west it borders onto the sperrgebiet national park, thereby creating a vital corridor of land between the aiais and sperrgebiet national parks, and in the east it reaches the top of the. With exception of namibia and botswana rock engravingspetroglyphs tend to be common in the interior of southern africa kalahari generally has no rock art because there are no mountains but tsodilo hills innorthwestern botswana is an exceptional and important area. The condensate geochemical analysis results from the kudu field in namibia are compared with oils from marine and lacustrine sources in brazil, indicating that the kudu condensates are derived from at least two different source rocks. Pdf derisking source rocks and plays, deepwater orange. Offshore namibia is one of the few atlantic basins where both.
Windhoek, the capital and the only city of any size, is located smack dab in the middle of the country. Geology and total petroleum systems of the westcentral coastal province 7203, west africa by michael e. Apart from the discovery of the offshore kudu gas field, exploration intersected oilprone source rocks in boreholes, of merely five wells until 2004. This aptian source rock is generally distributed over the deepwater basin. It consists of a spring in a valley flanked by the slopes of a sandstone table mountain that receives very little rainfall and has a wide range of diurnal temperatures. The natural resource economy of africa greatly contributes to the buildings and structures constructed on the continent. The spitzkoppe or matterhorn of namibia is the highest peak in the group at 5800 feet 1780 meters iand can be spotted and recognized from many miles away. Its the first thing you learn in a geology class very briefly the three types of rocks are igneous they form from the cooling of magma deep inside the earth.
The nama basin extends for over 350,000 km2 across southern namibia, western botswana and the northwestern tip and southwestern margins of south africa, with extensive outcrops only in. Ridge exhibit geochemical similarities suggesting that comparable source rock systems are present in both areas. Muntingh 1993 described turonian source rocks with tocs as much as. The geology of the area ranges from relatively young rock formations of the karoo and nama groups 200 and 550 million years old respectively, to rocks of the namaqua metamorphic landscape about 1,200 million years, to some of the oldest rocks known, along the orange river valley, which are over. Geological events of the past are evident in namibia today. Namibia imports all its power station requirements. Derisking source rocks and plays, deepwater orange river basin. Source rocks are commonly shales and lime mudstones, which contain significant amount of organic matter. Exploration interest in namibia is likely to continue to grow. Namibia contains mature source rocks and hydrocarbon migration pathways to reservoirs l one prospect and 22 leads in chariots blocks to date four additional prospects created by stacking leads l deep water exploration underexplored with only 3 wells drilled to date in water depths greater than 500m early stages but receiving. Petroleum source rocks characterization and hydrocarbon. As one of the most scarcely populated countries in the world, its not the right place to get lost in the crows. Namibia s center is occupied by a high escarpment plain. Here you will find the oldest rustred desert in the world, quintessential african landscapes teeming with wildlife, preternaturally blue skies stretching above vast open.
Source rock aspects of the deepwater potential, offshore namibia. Schists, marbles and a variety of other layered rocks are evident and exposed in the naukluft mountains, the kuiseb and ugab rivers and north of the brandberg west mine. The namibian and brazilian southern south atlantic. Characterised by red sand dunes that can reach impressive heights, the namib is considered to be particularly old. Collecting rocks and minerals can be just for fun or become a passion. Republic of namibia namibias fourth national development.
The area stretches from the east edge of the niger delta south to the walvis. Aug 12, 2017 the spitzkoppe or matterhorn of namibia is the highest peak in the group at 5800 feet 1780 meters iand can be spotted and recognized from many miles away. The bargain basement when we get lukcy we pass it on. The rocks containing the art work are situated in a valley flanked by the slopes of a sandstone table mountain. This source rock is most likely source interval for the kudu gas namibia field. Cenomanianturonian oilprone source rocks have been penetrated by wells in the walvis basin.
The rock art of southern africa university of texas at. Namibias varied geology encompasses rocks of archaean to phanerozoic age, thus covering more than 2600 million years of earth history. The target reservoir rocks for the orinduik block are sandstones deposited as shelf margin, slope and basin turbidite fans. The tsondab sandstone formation is an example of where these rocks have come down from the mountains to form new landscape below 30 million years ago. The prospectivity modelling highlights the importance of geological and geochemical data sets as predictors of mineralisation, with reactive and brittle host rocks, geology, and nesw and ew faults being particularly important. Rock art, in short, prehistoric and historic imagery making, mainly on natural rock surfaces, often accumulated at one specially selected site, even on one particular specific rock art panel. View all hotels near namibia swa gemstones on tripadvisor. Geology and total petroleum systems of the westcentral.
Although the waterberg is far from the rupture zone, the tremendous forces at work inside the earth could be felt at the waterberg. Petroleum source rock is defined as the finegrained sediment with sufficient amount of organic matter, which can generate and release enough hydrocarbons to form a commercial accumulation of oil or gas. The evaluation of petroleum source rocks and hydrocarbon generation is a very important skill for explorationists to define the location and type of petroleum prospects in a region. Namib sand sea is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. Swart, roger, namcor pty ltd, windhoek, namibia recent drilling of exploration wells in namibia has proved that there are two significant cretaceous oilprone source rocks offshore namibia, namely the aptoalbian and the cenomanian. The map and book synthesise the groundwater related data, information and knowledge available in namibia. Both basins are compared to their northern counterparts, for the walvis basin in namibia the kwanza basin of angola, and for the pelotas basin the santos basin of brazil, underexplored. One of the natural hazards in namibia is the prolonged periods of drought. Namibia botswana caprivi strip 50 caprivi strip angola otjihende steirandberge kaokaland 20. Namibia s varied geology encompasses rocks of archaean to phanerozoic age, thus covering more than 2600 million years of earth history. A large lowgrade coalfield was found near aranos, at depths of 250 to 300 metres 820 to 980 ft. Other natural resources for this country include diamonds, fish, salt and hydropower.
The greater fish river canyon landscape stretches from the orange river in the south where it borders onto the richtersveld national park in south africa to the naute recreational resort in the north. This study traces the bisotope variations in tourmalines from the basement, from the erongo granite and from its hydrothermal stage. Both the reasons to select that specific site or panel and the reasons to ignore the. Last updated on november 7, 2016 in africa 2 comments. Natural resources of namibia fortune of africa namibia. Namibias center is occupied by a high escarpment plain. These shelf deposits, made up of algal, stromatolitic and oolitic dolomites and limestones with interspersed shalemudstone horizons, have. The natural resources in africa are used practically in many industries and in many countries every day. Iocg prospectivity modelling in namibia and zambia using.
For over a century, namibia has had a strong mineral foundation, starting with the discovery of. But it is a top destination for those who enjoy nature, grandiose landscapes, spectacular sand dunes and firstclass wildlife viewing. Pdf derisking source rock maturity in the luderitz basin using. Click the pictures to get full data, click the x to remove the gem from the list. South america and africa were separated in the region of what is today namibia. Pdf source rock characterization in frontier basins a. Kalahari fields buy rocks and minerals from the iconic kmf. Previously the southwestern coast of africa had long been regarded as being a gas. Namibia swa gemstones outjo 2020 all you need to know. Petroleum source rock is defined as the finegrained sediment with sufficient amount of organic matter, which can generate and release enough hydrocarbons to form a commercial accumulation of oil or gas 1. Analysis of the aptian source rocks offshore namibia indicat ing that the presence of type ii. The government of namibia plans to start mining iron ore in the country by.
Pel0029, which covers 5,810 square kilometres in water depths ranging from 1,200 metres to 3,000 metres, comprises blocks 1910b and 2010a and has been held since 2011. Source rock aspects of the deepwater potential, offshore. The site lies on the banks of the aba huab river in the huab valley of the mount etjo formation. The gem andalusite is a gemstone composed of lead sulphate giving it a yellowish hew with a light tint of a rusty red color. Geology of the luderitz basin the three main namibian offshore. Stretching over 1200mi 2000km, the namib crosses angola, namibia and south africa. About us, about namibia about our stones about our people. Prospects expected to be close to oil source rock zones. An underground aquifer on an impermeable layer of shale sustains a spring in this. Tourmaline is widespread in metapelites and pegmatites from the neoproterozoic damara belt, which form the basement and potential source rocks of the cretaceous erongo granite. Cenozoic epigenetic uranium mineralisation occurs in calcretes above basement rocks in the namib desert. Geo expro promising giant new hydrocarbon frontier. For now, at least, iocs can take a cheap punt on namibia. Exploration offshore namibia has yet to produce results as the expected.
Outcropping karoo strata form distinct landscape features such as the weissrand escarpment in southern namibia or the waterberg plateau, the latter being a well. About half of the countrys surface area is bedrock exposure, while the remainder is covered by cenozoic deposits of the kalahari. Geology windhoek green belt landscape landscapes namibia. The company doing oil exploration in namibia believes that finding oil in namibia is a matter of time.
Pdf source rock characterization in frontier basins a global. Buying into a block in tanzania or mozambique has become very expensive. Geology and total petroleum systems of the westcentral coastal province 7203, west africa. Physical setting of southern africa southern africa has more rock art sites than any other region in the world over 7, 500 sites recorded in zimbabwe, namibia, botswana, south africa, swaziland and lesotho botswanatsodilo hills whs matsieng south africa drakensburg whs blombos cave namibiaappollo 11 cave brandberg zimbabwematopo hills whs. Botswana and namibia are two of africas hidden gems, and very much remain frontier realms for intrepid travellers to discover. Namibia has two trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. Setting the scene recent exploration wells have derisked the presence and maturity of source rocks in the northern and southern basins offshore namibia, yet the deepwater part of the central. Twyfelfontein is situated in the southern kunene region of namibia, an area formerly known as damaraland. In the northern part of the central plain is the waterberg plateau, a 150 sq. Oil companies that came too late to the east african oil and gas boom dont want to be left behind. Both basins, walvis and orange, have good source rocks, in the oil generation window. Global holds an 85% participating interest in two petroleum exploration licences pels in the walvis basin, offshore nw namibia. Source rocks are commonly shales and lime mudstones, which contain significant amount of organic matter 2. It is now some 22 years since namibia gained her political independence, when we became masters of our destiny.
Simultaneously, nearby and, inexplicably to our western minds, equally suitable sites or rock surfaces were ignored. Pdf derisking source rock maturity in the luderitz. The rock art of southern africa university of texas at austin. Namibia is a stable, democratic country, and the government of the republic of namibia is committed to stimulating economic growth and employment through foreign investment. The landscape encompasses a vast diversity of landscapes, topographic features and habitats. Global and regional control on organic matter accumulation. The resulting pressure caused the overlying rocks to bulge upwards and form a 400 m high and 10 km wide dome, into which more magma intruded, producing more steam.
Namibia has metal or metallic resources which include cadmium, copper, gold, lead, lithium, tin, uranium and zinc. Accordingly, we undertook a geochemical study to determine their possible origins. This book groundwater in namibia and the attached hydrogeological map of namibia at a 1. For over a century, namibia has had a strong mineral foundation, starting with the discovery of diamonds in 1908.
These geochemical components suggest that the lacustrine and marine source rocks that are extremely prolific in the brazilian margin north of the florianopolis fracture zonerio grande rise and north of the walvis ridge might also occur south of these tectonic elements, in deep water regions offshore namibia. In addition to the formidable mountains, spitzkoppe is home to boulder fields and natural arches that can be the source of endless compositional variations. Resource report for certain assets in offshore namibia and report. Namibia is an arid, rough land full of contrasts, but still inviting and easy to travel.