Field Trips
PLEASE FIND BELOW UPDATED DETAILS ON THE FIELD TRIPS ON OFFER
All the field trips are subject to a minimum number of delegates attending. Please find below more details about each field trip on offer.
Last date to register for a field trip is Wednesday 20 August 2025.
FIELD TRIP 1: Windhoek Water Supply – 1 Day
Date: Thursday 11 September 2025
Cost: ZAR 900-00 / USD 55 per person
Field Trip Leader: Koos Theron
In an arid country like Namibia, ensuring a reliable and clean water supply is a constant challenge. This field excursion offers an exploration of the diverse water resources utilized to meet Windhoek’s water needs. By examining these different water sources and the associated infrastructure, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the city’s water management practices.
They will also learn about the innovative strategies employed in Windhoek to conserve water and promote its reuse, including the use of advanced treatment technologies and efficient management techniques.
This excursion provides valuable insights into the complexities of water provision in arid environments and the measures taken to ensure a sustainable water supply for urban communities in Windhoek.
Cost includes:
- Transport
- Lunch
Click here for the field trip flyer.
FIELD TRIP 7: Uis Tin Mine and Brandberg Mountain – 2 Days
Date: 11 – 12 September 2025
Cost: ZAR 6,120-00 / USD 350-00 per person
Andrada Mining’s Uis Tin Mine: Observe operations focusing on tin, lithium, and tantalum production, providing insights into strategic minerals for the energy transition.
Brandberg Mountain: Embark on a guided hike to the White Lady rock painting, one of Namibia’s most renowned San rock art sites.
Cost includes:
- Transport
Accommodation (Thursday evening)
Breakfast (Friday)
Lunch Packs (Thursday and Friday)
Dinner (Thursday)
Click here for the field trip flyer.
FIELD TRIP 8: Tsumeb Region – Mining Heritage and Karst Geology – 4 Days
Date: 11 – 14 September 2025Cost: ZAR 14,900-00 / USD 850-00 per personField Trip Leader: Andreas G. Palfi
Tsumeb Mine: Explore one of the world’s most renowned polymetallic ore deposits, known for its exceptional variety and quality of minerals.Lake Otjikoto: Discover this sinkhole lake formed by a collapsing karst cave, notable for its historical significance and unique geological features.Tsumeb Museum: Gain an understanding of the region’s mining history and cultural heritage through various exhibits.
Cost includes:
TransportAccommodation (Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening)Breakfast (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)Lunch (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)Dinner (Thursday, Friday and Saturday)Access to Abenab Open Pit Mine, Tsumeb Museum and Lake Otjikoto
Click here for the field trip flyer.
FIELD TRIP 2: Urban Geology and Infrastructure in Windhoek – 1 Day CANCELLED
A tour of Windhoek’s geological setting, emphasising how the city’s growth has adapted to the underlying geology. This can include visits to construction sites, discussions on foundation challenges, and the sourcing of local building materials.
FIELD TRIP 3: Lithium Exploration and Mines Projects – 3 Days CANCELLED
The Erongo Region in Namibia has emerged as a significant hub for lithium exploration projects and mining activities. This region is known for its rich lithium deposits, attracting both domestic and international companies seeking to tap into this valuable resource. The geological characteristics of the Erongo Region make it particularly favorable for lithium exploration, with promising prospects for the development of lithium mines.
The lithium exploration projects and mines excursion provides participants with a comprehensive overview of the geological characteristics, exploration methods, and mining techniques specific to various lithium deposits in the region. It offers valuable insights into the ongoing lithium projects, showcasing their current development stages, production capacity, and the potential economic impacts they can bring to the region.
This resource is essential for investors, researchers, and industry professionals seeking to gain a deeper understanding of Namibia’s lithium potential and the associated opportunities and challenges within this rapidly evolving sector.
FIELD TRIP 5: Field Visit to Namibian Gold Mines and Projects – 5 Days CANCELLED
Several orogenic gold deposits occur in the Neoproterozoic Damara Supergroup. Research conducted on these deposits indicate a late to post tectonic emplacement of this mineralisation during syn- to late-peak metamorphic conditions (Shilunga, 2022 et. al). The mineralisation is structurally controlled with fault and thrust systems acting as conduits for the ascending mineralising fluids. The field trip will take the delegates to the Navachab Gold Mine and the Twin Hills Gold Project located at Karibib as well as to the Otjikoto Gold Mine located to the north of Otjiwarongo. The lithologies, structures, alteration and mineralisation will be explained and shown to the delegates at each of these localities.
FIELD TRIP 6: Sperrgebiet Palaeontology, Geology and Diamond Deposits – 6 Days CANCELLED
The Sperrgebiet is a treasure trove of palaeontological sites. This trip would visit Palaeogene and Neogene fossil sites (Eocliff in the Klinghardt, Black crow and Eocene Langental; Neogene fossil sites such as Langental, Grillental and Elisabethfeld). The Bogenfels will also be visited. The Sperrgebiet (Forbidden Zone) of Namibia was declared out-of-bounds by the German Government in 1908 soon after the discovery of diamonds close to Kolmanskop 10 km inland from Lüderitz. The zone, now known as the Tsau-#Khaeb National Park, extends from the Aus-Lüderitz road in the north to the Orange River in the south (ca 200 km), and from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Great Escarpment in the east (ca 70-100 km).
The Basement rocks of the Sperrgebiet comprise Precambrian gneisses, shales, quartzites, dolomites and various intrusive rocks (syenite batholiths, dolerite dykes). The superficial deposits of the Sperrgebiet consist of a variety of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, as well as alteration products related to volcanic activity and near-surface processes driven by groundwater flowage as well as to processes of near-surface induration of superficial deposits under desert conditions. Close to the coast there are substantial beach deposits which accumulated when sea-level was higher than it is today, and there are analogous deposits offshore, laid down when sea-level was lower than it is today, notably during the Oligocene.
All the diamonds found in the Sperrgebeit have been obtained from these superficial deposits close to the coast, the onland ores being prevalent in the Salt Namib where the surface deposits are rich in salt and often gypsum, the result of long term transport of sea spray inland for up to 20 km. In the Inner Namib in contrast, the soils and surface deposits generally lack salt.
Finally, the Southern Namib is known for the extremely mobile dune trains that traverse northwards, predominantly in the Trough Namib and to a lesser extent the Innen Namib, where they eventually contribute their sand to the Namib Sand Sea of the Namib-Naukluft Park. Some of these dunes move up to 300 metres per year.
