Operation of the South African National Seismograph Network (SANSN)
Participation in the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
Geochemistry
Regional geochemical mapping on a sampling-density grid of one soil (or stream-sediment) sample per km2. Samples are analysed on a Simultaneous X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (SXRF) for As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe2O3T %, MnO %, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sn, Sr, TiO2 %, Th, U, V, W, Y, Zn and Zr.
Regional geochemical trends are mapped.
Small- to medium-sized outcropping ore bodies are identified.
Minerals Development
Mapping and sampling of ore deposits
Mineralogical and physical characterisation
Mineral-commodity reports and maps for specific purposes
Assistance to small-scale miners
Industrial minerals
Maintenance of the COREDATA and COAL databases
Maintenance of the SAMINDABA mineral-deposits database
Engineering Geosciences
Engineering-geological and geotechnical expertise
Engineering-geological site investigations aimed at dams and dam safety, tunnels, pump stations and reservoirs
Construction-material investigations
Slope-stability investigations
Structure or Urban Development plans
Engineering-geological Database (ENGEODE)
Regional engineering-geological mapping
Research, focusing on understanding the dolomitic environment and its stability
Water Geoscience
Planning and assessment of rural water-supply systems
Groundwater resource assessments (quantification, flow determination and water quality studies)
Groundwater sustainability studies for both resources and water supply schemes
Management of groundwater resources, including exploration
Groundwater- and contaminant-transport modelling
Management of groundwater contamination (e.g. impact of mining, as well as of waste and sanitation facilities)
Structural, metamorphic and igneous investigations in complex metamorphic terranes
Compiling national and international thematic maps
Petrographic investigations
Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
Geohydrology and groundwater investigations at catchment scale
Coastal Geology and recent geological changes
Mineral assessment and development and metallogenic mapping
Sedimentology of estuarine and coastal environments
Palaeoseismic investigations for critical facilities
Regional structural analysis of intensely deformed terranes
Structural assessment of groundwater aquifers
Petrology of high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks
Thermobarometry of metamorphic terranes
Metallogenesis of ore deposits using petrographic and geochemical analysis
Regolith characterisation and mapping for infrastructure development and mineral exploration
Landslide and mass movement susceptibility mapping
Engineering-geological mapping and site investigations
Development-potential geotechnical assessment and mapping
Cemetery site investigations and planning
Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Management
Programmes for prospecting, quarry development and mining
Specialist geoscientific contributions for environmental impact assessment processes
Advanced structural and microstructural analysis
Thermobarometric analysis of metamorphic terranes
The provision of authoritative checking and standardisation of all stratigraphic terminology used by the secretariat of the South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS)
The maintenance of the SACS database, which is used to record and administer the stratigraphic terminology for South African stratigraphy
Palaeontological research specialising in: biostratigraphy, sedimentary stratigraphy, the reconstruction of depositional environments, Palaeoichthyology, Permo-Triassic mammal-like reptiles, and Plio-Pleistocene mammals