Day 2: Monday, February 17th, 2020
Day 2: Monday, February 17th, 2020 - Barberton Geotrail ⛏ Today was a cloudless and sunny day. We woke up and had sandwiches for breakfast. We looked at Barberton Greenstone Belt, the Dwars River Heritage Site, and Transvaal Supergroup. Stop 1: Msuali/Bulembu Asbestos mines located here. Typically asbestos mines are easier to remediate because there is no acid rock drainage. On the South African side of the Eswatini border the space that was once occupied by the asbestos mine has been revegetated and was overall reclaimed much better than the asbestos mine on the Eswatini side due to stricter regulations. There we also saw vesicles on the inside of pillow lavas. Stop 2: Msauli Chert Black chert is carbon rich. C and S isotopes are lighter indicating biological activity. Chert with concoidal fractures. It is strong, sharp, and homogeneous. It was deposited slowly in a low energy, deep water environment. There were also pillow lavas indicating a deep