Makhonjwa to be researched by geoscientists
Research geologists from around the globe will gather in Barberton to study the geological make-up of the Makhonjwa Mountains later this year.
After five years of planning, the academics will begin a scientific drilling project in order to better understand the early history of the earth.
It is being funded by the International Continental Drilling Programme which supports geological research. More than 50 researchers from 15 countries are involved in the project.
The geoscientists have not been able to visit the site in more than a year due to Covid-19.
Prof Christoph Heubeck of Jena University in Germany is the lead on the project and has visited Barberton many times.
He, along with his co-leader, Prof Nic Beukes of the University of Johannesburg, visited Barberton at the beginning of April to inspect the proposed drill sites.
They were joined by local landowners and stakeholders, including Johan Eksteen of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and Tony Ferrar, a local.
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The project will take between five and seven months and will begin later this year. The drilling will look at the almost 3,22-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks of the Barberton Greenstone Belt along the northern part of the Makhonjwa Mountains.
This is the only World Heritage Site in Mpumalanga.
