Geology of an ancient porphyry copper deposit,
Karas region, Namibia

As with any exploration camp, there is a nice diversity of people.  That's actually one of my favorite things about working with the mineral industry.  Minerals bring people together.  The people at this camp came from all corners of Namibia.  Some spoke Afrikaans, others spoke OshiWambo.  Several of the people working in the Windhoek office spoke one of the Khoisan clicking languages (Nàmá).  Many people and signs we saw along the way spoke German as their primary language.

The area around camp is mostly rolling desert hills.  Although it may superficially look dry and relatively lifeless, the ground is actually carpeted with plants and other wildlife.

Here you can get a feel for the greenery (and "reddery") that carpets the landscape.  The red regions are covered with red-leaved and red-flowered plants.  The green patches are green plants.  The sharp peaks in the background are probably erosion-resistant igneous dikes related to the breakup of Pangaea.  (Dikes is spelled "dykes" in British English.)

Heading out in the morning to log drill core, three geologists stop to stare at the tourist professor with the camera. Saave, the geologist on the left, is an outstanding geologist!  She has an eagle eye, understands both field and theory, and works tirelessly.  Moses, the guy on the right, is also very good, but less experienced.  Both have very promising futures ahead of them.  Jewels, the geologist in the middle, also has a lot of potential.

I like to get up early in the morning, so was treated to some inspiring sunrises.  I always waited until 7:00 to start the generator so others could sleep a little.

Sunsets could be beautiful in Namibia, too.  The dry air and lack of light pollution from civilization made stargazing an awe-inspiring experience.  We learned to find the Southern Cross and from that locate a southerly azimuth.  The Milky Way was vivid!  It's hard to believe that the hazy "cloud" is the light of billions of stars like our own.

On to field work

Back to Kurt Friehauf home page