Platinum, gold and diamonds The adventure of Hans Merensky's discoveries von Eberhard Machens 1. Auflage Platinum, gold and diamonds – Machens schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei beck-shop.de DIE FACHBUCHHANDLUNG Thematische Gliederung: Geologie: Allgemeines Schweizerbart, E. 2009 Verlag C.H. Beck im Internet: www.beck.de ISBN 978 3 510 65257 0 Eberhard W. Machens Platinum, gold and diamonds The adventure of Hans Merensky's discoveries 2009. 308 pages, 16 page photo section (Protea Boekhuis) ISBN 978-3-510-65257-0, paperback, € 26.80 Contents The book recounts the captivating story of the life of Hans Preface and acknowledgements 7 , responsible for Chapter 1: The life of a discoverer 13 Merensky Chapter 2. The missionary's son 17 discovering the richest platinum Chapter 3: Lieutenant of the Guard and deposit worldwide in South Africa. mining assessor 33 Chapter 4: Consulting geologist in South Africa 41 Born the son of a well-known Chapter 5: The Madagascar gold 53 missionary at Botshabelo Chapter 6: Bankruptcy 65 (Transvaal), Merensky was Chapter 7: Interned 73 Chapter 8: The art of getting into debt 79 trained as a geologist in Germany Chapter 9: Light at the end of the tunnel 85 and drawn back to South Africa Chapter 10: Platinum in the Bushveld 97 by his creative ambition to explore Chapter 11: Platinum, platinum without end 113 Fig.3: Hans Merensky when Chapter 12: To the Adlon in Berlin and back to he was about 65 the potential of his native country. the Transvaal 127 years old On close scrutiny Hans Chapter 13: Diamonds in Namaqualand 143 Merensky (*March 16, 1871, Chapter 14: The struggle for mining rights 163 Chapter 15: Turning point in Merensky's life 183 †October 21, 1952) was far Chapter 16: A summer in Mecklenburg 189 more than the wizard Chapter 17: The creative farmer 201 Chapter 18: Gold in the Orange Free State 219 geologist the press dubbed Chapter 19: New successes: chrome ores him during his heyday. and vermiculite 229 Today it is obvious that Chapter 20: The last coup 239 Chapter 21: The last years 253 Merensky was not only a d Chapter 22: A lasting legacy 265 scientist of note, but also an ashe s w Line hell er Bibliography 281 r s Oyst extremely far-sighted and yste he Index of people 289 : O in t ig.11 her F oget Index of places, companies and institutions 293 thoughtful economic strategist, up t Index of concepts and events 301 agricultural trendsetter, Textboxes humanitarian and philanthropist. Nothing could extinguish Textbox 1: What is a mineral deposit? 15 his enthusiasm for his adopted homeland’s undiscovered Textbox 2: The land of gold — Ophir 25 treasures and despite bankruptcy, internment, illness, Schweizerbart Science Publishers • Stuttgart Johannesstrasse 3 A, 70176 Stuttgart, Germany. Tel.: +49 (711)351456-0 FAX: +49 (711)351456-99, [email protected] E www.schweizerbart.de. USA: Balogh International, 1911 N. Duncan Rd, Champaign,IL 61822. [email protected]. ph.:(217) 355 9331 MORECONTENTS... Machens:Platinum,goldanddiamonds Textbox 3: Carl Mauch discovers the political obstacles and later, old age, Hans Merensky saw Zimbabwe Ruins 28 Textbox 4: What is the difference between only opportunity wherever he went. From the discovery of prospecting and exploration? 46 the Merensky-Reef (the richest platinum deposit world Textbox 5: "Primary" and "secondary" deposits 61 wide) and the richest deposits of Textbox 6: The history of platinum 90 Textbox 7: The history of diamonds 139 alluvial gem diamonds Textbox 8: "Like Argus of the Ancient Times" 161 ever found to the initial Textbox 9: The diamond cartel 179 attempts at the Textbox 10: Eucalyptus as timber 217 Textbox 11: Chrome ore deposits 226 commercial cultivation of Textbox 12: Vermiculite 237 avocados and the controlled planting of saligna (Eucalyptus) and pine trees — almost everything Hans Merensky e romit 0: Ch t ig. 2 gdlus touched turned to gold. F on Ja eams The book however, does not s stop at merely portraying Merensky's life and achievements. Text boxes throughout the text aim at providing background information about ore and economic geology, mineral markets to allow the reader to understand the implications of Merensky's achievements. About the author: As a budding geologist Eberhard W. Machens (*1929) worked in Africa for ten years, prospecting for various ores, particularly for gold. After returning to his native Germany he submitted a postdoctoral thesis on the ore deposits of the african basement complex, and took up a professorship for geology of non-European countries at the University of Mainz. Later he was a director at OECD in Paris, responsible for mining and prospecting issues in developing countries. Subsequently he was with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs in Bonn for 14 years, responsible for raw material issues in International economic relations, before rounding off his career with a professorship in raw materials economics at the University of Cottbus. Platinum, gold and diamonds was inspired by the author’s intimate knowledge of the international interconnectedness between raw material markets, of prospecting methods and of the life of a prospector in the African bush. Order form I (we) order from E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Nägele u. Obermiller), Johannesstr. 3 A, 70176 Stuttgart, Germany. Phone: +49 (711) 351456-0, FAX: +49 (711) 351456-99, www.schweizerbart.de, email: [email protected] via: _____ copies of Machens: Platinum, gold and diamonds. The adventure of Hans Merensky's discoveries. 2009. 308 p. plus 16 page photo section. ISBN 978-3-510-65257-0, paperback, € 26.80 name: address: date: signature: 06/2009-5000 Printed in Germany.