Kalahari Manganese Field (Wessels Mine)
Northern Cape, John Taolo Gaetsewe District, Hotazel, South Africa
OtherMn (Fe)
- Type
- Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary manganese interbedded with banded iron formations, upgraded by hydrothermal alteration
Largest land-based manganese reserve: carbonate ore interbedded with the banded iron formations of the Hotazel Formation (Transvaal Supergroup). The underground Wessels mine works the high-grade Wessels-type ore (over 47 % Mn, coarse hausmannite and braunite II), formed by fault-controlled hydrothermal alteration of low-grade Mamatwan-type ore (20 to 38 % Mn) (MiningDataOnline; Mindat). Feitknechtite-hausmannite mixture at ε205Tl of -0.48, very poor in Tl (23.8 ng/g in the text, 0.05 ppm in Table S1), without measurable fractionation in experimental adsorption (Wang et al., 2026). Indicative coordinates, about 13 km north-west of Hotazel.
ε205Tl in ε units (parts per 10,000) Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 997
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −0.48 ± 0.02 ε | feitknechtite (beta-MnOOH) and hausmannite mixture, about 50 % hausmannite Value before the adsorption experiment, Table S1; ± 0.02 (2SD of repeat measurements), long-term reproducibility about ± 0.3 ε; 56.78 % Mn; Tl of 23.8 ng/g (text) or 0.05 ppm (Table S1); specimen of J. Post (Post et al., 2023). | Wang et al. (2026), Thallium isotopic fractionation during adsorption onto natural mangan… |
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Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Kalahari Manganese Field (Wessels Mine), isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/champ-manganesifere-du-kalahari-mine-wessels/ (accessed 2026-10-16).
@misc{isofind2026kalaharimanganesefieldwessels,
title = {Kalahari Manganese Field (Wessels Mine), isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/champ-manganesifere-du-kalahari-mine-wessels/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Updated : 2026-10-16