Wits geology master shares why every stone tells a story
David Russo explains why geology is one of the most fascinating sciences on earth.
Forget the stereotype of geologists simply collecting rocks.
To David Russo, who recently completed his Master’s in Geology at Wits University, every rock tells a story that stretches back billions of years. “People always ask if I just play with rocks,” he joked.
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Though he does, vehemently, believe geologists are rock-obsessed, geology, he said, is so much more than that. “It includes engineering geology, hydrogeology, environmental geology, and many other fields. There are so many career paths.”
Speaking at Melville Koppies, after Wits professor Jill Drennan’s Written in Stone lecture, Russo explained that geology helps people understand not only earth’s history but also its future.
“Where we’re standing today was once the shoreline of an inland sea, about three billion years ago.” He added that the Earth is constantly changing, even if it seems completely still.
His studies have taken him far beyond lecture halls – from the Mponeng Gold Mine, the world’s deepest mine near Carletonville, to the Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, where ancient rocks remain remarkably well preserved.
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One unforgettable moment came while studying a carbon-rich nodule while out on location doing fieldwork.
When he and his team cut it open, they discovered spectacular veins of native silver branching through the rock. “It was nature’s artwork.” They scanned it in 3D, and realised the entire sample was filled with silver.
Fieldwork has also delivered its fair share of adventure, including encounters with a Mozambique spitting cobra and getting stuck in quicksand.
Yet it’s the quieter discoveries that continue to inspire him.
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“Rocks are like books,” he said, seeing every layer as another chapter.
“Once you learn how to read them, they begin telling you incredible stories.”
Russo’s hope is that more Johannesburg residents will appreciate the city’s remarkable geological heritage.
“If it weren’t for gold, Johannesburg wouldn’t exist. We have an incredible geological story right beneath our feet.”
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