Supervisor:  Prof. Harilaos Tsikos

Sponsor:  ASSMANG PTY LTD

Biographical

Emmanuella Ikwen was born and raised in a small town called Calabar in Cross River, Nigeria.  She moved to South Africa in 2013 where she completed her high school education in Pretoria, before pursuing her tertiary studies at Rhodes University in 2016.  In 2018, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Chemistry with distinction in Geology, and in 2020 she obtained her Honors degree in Geology, also with distinction. Her Honors project focused on the origin of secondary pyrite in basaltic andesites of the Transvaal Supergroup. Emma is currently working on her MSc project which concerns the origin of alkali-rich metasomatic mineral assemblages in basal quartzites of the late Paleoproterozoic Olifantshoek Supergroup.  She will be using detailed mineralogy and a variety of geochemical methodologies (bulk-rock analyses, Ar-Ar dating, Li isotopes) to elucidate fluid origins and timing of formation of her assemblages, and compare these with similar assemblages in the underlying Fe/Mn-rich Hotazel Formation. In her spare time, she is an amateur oenophile, painter and soy candle maker, and she also loves hiking and winding down to true crime podcasts.

Project title:

Origin of alkali metasomatism at the lowermost portion of the Paleoproterozoic Mapedi Formation and its possible metallogenic significance in the context of the northernmost Kalahari Manganese Field

Contact details:

Email: Emmanuellapiuus@gmail.com

Cell: +27835323267

Last Modified: Wed, 10 Mar 2021 15:26:33 SAST