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Fanus Viljoen

Prof Fanus Viljoen

DST Research Chair in GeoMetallurgy
Name: Fanus Viljoen
Location: C1 Lab 414 Auckland Park Kingsway Campus
Department of Geology Staff  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: +27 (0)11 559 4710

Email: fanusv@uj.ac.za

About Prof Fanus Viljoen

Professor Fanus Viljoen holds an MSc from the University of Cape Town and a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, both in Geochemistry. Having been involved in the study of kimberlites, diamonds and mantle xenoliths for much of his career while employed in Industry, he joined the University of Johannesburg in 2008 to take up the DSI/NRF Research Chair in Geometallurgy. Geometallurgy is a rapidly evolving field of interdisciplinary research that bridges the gap between the geosciences, minerals research, metallurgy and the mining and exploration industry. The primary thrust of the Research Chair is to develop and apply geometallurgical methods to quantify the mineralogical and textural characteristics of ore bodies, ores, concentrates and successor products in resource types relevant to the South African minerals industry. Professor Viljoen is the author and co-author of 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as numerous congress proceedings abstracts.
    Research Interests
      Diamonds and their Mineral Inclusions; Mantle Petrology; Petrology and Volcanology of Kimberlites and Lamproites; Geometallurgy
        Teaching responsibilities
          1. Honours: Environmental and Applied Mineralogy
          2. Honours: Economic Geology
          3. Undergraduate: Second Year Field School
            Recent Publications
            • Dzvinamurungu T, Rose DH, Chimwani N, Viljoen F (2022) Using process mineralogy as a tool to investigate blending potential of the pentlandite-bearing ores at the Nkomati Ni Mine in South Africa. Minerals, 12(5), 649. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12050649
            • Zhang Q, Morel MLA, Liu J, Legros H, Luguet A, Viljoen KS, Davies GR, Pearson DG (2022) Re-healing cratonic mantle lithosphere after the world’s largest igneous intrusion: Constraints from peridotites erupted by the Premier kimberlite, South Africa. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 598, article 117838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117838
            • Dongre A, Viljoen KS, Belyanin G, Le Roux P, Malandkar M (2020) Petrogenesis of the diamondiferous Pipe-8 ultramafic intrusion from the Wajrakarur kimberlite field of Southern India and its relation to the worldwide Mesoproterozoic (~1.1 Ga) magmatism of kimberlite and related rocks. Geoscience Frontiers 11: 793-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.07.010
            • Shaikh A, Bussweiler Y, Tappe S, Patel S, Ravi S, Bolhar R, Viljoen KS (2020) Clinopyroxene and garnet mantle cargo in kimberlites as probes of Dharwar craton architecture and geotherms, with implications for post-1.1 Ga lithosphere thinning events beneath southern India. Journal of Petrology 61(9), September: egaa087. https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egaa087
            • Mkhatshwa SF, Guy BM, Smith AJB, Viljoen KS (2020) A mineralogical perspective on the recovery of uranium from brannerite-rich ore at Cooke Section, West Rand Goldfield, South Africa. South African Journal of Geology 123.4: 615-632. https://doi.org/10.25131/sajg.123.0031
            • Dzvinamurungu T, Rose DH, Viljoen KS, Mulaba-Bafubiandi FM (2020) A process mineralogical evaluation of chromite at the Nkomati nickel mine, Uitkomst Complex, South Africa. Minerals 10, article 709. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/min10080709
            • Aulbach S, Viljoen KS, Gerdes A (2020) Diamondiferous and barren eclogites and pyroxenites from the western Kaapvaal craton record subduction processes and mantle metasomatism, respectively. Lithos 368-369, article 105588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105588
            • Aulbach S, Massuyeau M, Garber JM, Gerdes A, Heaman LM, Viljoen KS (2020) Ultramafic carbonated melt- and auto-metasomatism in mantle eclogite: Compositional effects and geophysical consequences. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 21, article e2019GC008774. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008774
            • Ballouard, C., Massuyeau, M., Elburg, M.A., Tappe, S., Viljoen, K., Brandenburg, J.-T. (2020). The magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of felsic igneous rocks as seen through Nb-Ta geochemical fractionation, with implications for the origins of rare-metal mineralization. Earth-Science Reviews, 103115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103115
            • Khan S, Dongre A, Viljoen F, Li Q-L, Le Roux P (2019) Petrogenesis of lamprophyres synchronous to kimberlites from the Wajrakarur kimberlite field: Implications for contrasting lithospheric mantle sources and geodynamic evolution of the eastern Dharwar Craton of southern India. Geological Journal 54(5), 2994-3016. https://doi.org/10.1002/gi.3394
            • Vafeas NA, Viljoen KS, Blignaut LC (2019) Mineralogical characterisation of the thrusted manganese ore above the Blackridge Thrust Fault, Kalahari Manganese Field: The footprint of the Mukulu Enrichment. Island Arc 28(1), e12280: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/iar.12280
            • Aulbach S, Heaman LM, Jacob D, Viljoen KS (2019) Ages and sources of mantle eclogites: ID-TIMS and in situ MC-ICPMS Pb-Sr isotope systematics of clinopyroxene. Chemical Geology 503 : 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.10.007
            • Vafeas NA, Blignaut LC, Viljoen KS, Le Roux P (2019) An investigation into the 87Sr/86Sr radiogenic isotope geochemistry of the manganese ore of the Kalahari Manganese field with a view on hydrothermal fluid flow and related rare earth element enrichments. South African Journal of Geology 122.2 : 237-248. https://doi.org/10.25131/sajg.122.0016
            • Badenhorst CJ, Wagner, NJ, Valentim BRV, Viljoen KS, Santos AC (2019) Separation of unburned carbon from coal conversion ash: Development and assessment of a dry method. Coal Combustion and Gasification Products 11 : 89-96. https://doi.org/10.4177/CCGP-D-19-00002.1
            • Badenhorst CJ, Wagner NJ, Valentim BRV, Santos AC, Guedes A, Bialecka B, Calus-Moszko J, Popescu LG, Cruceru M, Predeanu G, Viljoen KS, Lazaro-Martinez JM (2019) Char from coal ash as a possible precursor for synthetic graphite – Recent developments of the Charphite project. Proceedings World of Coal Ash 2019. 077-paper.pdf. PDF
            • Vafeas NA, Blignaut LC, Viljoen KS (2019) Arsenic-bearing manganese ore from the Mukulu enrichment: A new discrimination scheme for Kalahari manganese ore. Ore Geology Reviews 115, article number 103146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2019.103146
            • Aulbach S, Woodland AB, Stern RA, Vasilyev P, Heaman LM, Viljoen KS (2019) Evidence for a dominantly reducing Archaean ambient mantle from two redox proxies, and low oxygen fugacity of deeply subducted oceanic crust. Nature Scientific Reports 9: 1-11, article number 20190. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55743-1