Nature 175, 349 - 350 (19 February 1955); doi:10.1038/175349a0

Geological Ages of Witwatersrand Uraninites

J. D. LOUW

National Physical Laboratory, South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria. Oct. 12.

THE origin of the gold and the uranium in the conglomerates of the Witwatersrand system is a much-disputed problem. Two main schools of thought seem to have emerged, namely, the adherents to a placer hypothesis and those who support a hydro-thermal theory of origin. Geological age determinations on Witwatersrand uraninites would yield valuable information to geologists concerned with this problem, since it is universally agreed that this system is of sedimentary origin and a maximum possible age for the system as a whole can be arrived at from field observations.

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