Beatrice 2

THE AREA

Beatrice is a farming community in the province of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It

is located about 54 km south-west of Harare on the main Harare–Masvingo road
where it crosses the Mupfure River.
In Beatrice, the wet season is mostly cloudy, the dry season is clear, and it is warm
year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 9.444°C
to 29.444°C and is rarely below 6.667° or above 33.333°C.
The study area is situated South West of Harare. The area is within the grid square
bounding the Beatrice area on the geological index map of Zimbabwe,covering the
top right,bottom right and bottom left in relation to the shaded area.
Mines in the area include Beatrice,Joyce and Roma.

Previous Geological Work

Consulting engineer’s report-1st Dec to 30th Dec 1902-Level number 3 drive south 22
feet- work was done to test the faulted section in the south end of the mine ,715 feet
from Main Shaft
29th December 1902, October report
At 50 feet in the 5th North Drive a seam of quartz striking across the drive at right
angles to the true course of reef was cut.
17th November 1902, September report
Mine
The 4th level South Drive The North drive in this level has shewn a clay seam.
At 43 feet in our 5th drive a seam of quartz came across the drive striking N 30°W

Report by FV Stevens 10th April 19462.

Underground
12 Level, Stope driving from the bottom of the internal haulage revealed intensive
folding of the reef.
HN Clackworthy 16th May 1942 (Annual Report 1941-42)
A dyke was encountered of varying depths of of from 60 feet to 80 feet below the
12th level.A horizontal diamond drill hole was drilled to a total distance of 115 feet
of which the first 70 feet was on the shattered zone and the remaining 45 feet again
entered hard dolerite dyke.
The vertical borehole was started at 279 feet back of the crosscut. It passed through
the footwall of the dyke at a depth of 412 feet and was continued to a depth of 496
feet in epidiorite schist.
The epidiorite schist in the foot wall of the dyke is the normal country rock in which
the Beatrice reef channel is located above the dike.
F. V. Stevens. 14th April 1942

Beatrice Mine, Manager’s annual report

The internal haulage was also deepened to arrive at the same point of intersection with
the dyke.From the bottom of the internal haulage, a stope drive was driven on what
has proved to be an intensive folding of the reef. This folding was more pronounced.
than any which has been discovered in the levels above lies at the approximate
junction of the water fissure fault and the dyke.

Monthly report-Beatrice Mine February 1942, H. N Clackworthy

In the 10th Level North dive a well defined fracture appeared in the west wall with
mineralized quartz.
F.V Stevens, 14th January 1942

12th level - No 7 raise at 623 feet south entered a very mixed channel with much
white and irregular quartz and no values.
The stope drive below this level from the internal haulage. has reveal a very intensive
folding of the reef.

F.V Stevens, 30 October 1941

Underground
7th level -The drive North from the crosscut of 370 feet North was extended a further
173 feet on a narrow lode channel with quartz reef the whole distance, but with no
payable values being encountered. The drive South from the same crosscut met the
aplite dyke and fault, and holed through to the original drive North.
Diamond Drilling
A horizontal hole was put in from the extreme end of the 6th level South and from 97
feet to 98 feet passed through a dark mineralized quartz, but carrying no values.

HN. Clackworthy, 6th September 1941 Monthly report Beatrice Mine |August 1947
Diamond drill hole entered dolerite greenstone. It was noticed that there were
irregular clay seams and that more fracture planes appeared than formerly.
Development
7th Level drive North - The drive South has passed through the fault which has a
thin aplite dyke on its contact.
The diamond drill hole which was put into the hanging wall off the 12th level south
extended to contact the dyke and the rock encountered when drilling ceased was
doleritic greenstone and not dolerite dyke.

Monthly Report -Beatrice Mine - April 1941, HN Clackworthy

Development:
7th Level, Drive North- The drive has been advanced 70 feet beyond the fault
mentioned in my report of March.Two more faults have been encountered in this
distance. At 50 feet from the face there is a large fault with an aplite dyke in contact
which strikes North-East and South-West and dips at 37 degrees to the West.
Annual Report of Mine Manager, 22 April 1941, F.V Stevens report for the period
ending 31 March 1941

series of winzes sunk from the drive South have all contacted a dolerite dyke at
varying depths, ranging from 70 feet the mot Northerly winze (No 3) to 40 feet in the
most Southerly (No 4).

Monthly report - February 1941 (10th March 1941)

A specimen of this dyke was sent to the Survey and the determination shows it to be a
fine grained dolerite with augite in place of augite, hornblende and biotite as shown in
dyke specimen from No 2 winze 12th level. It is stated that the rock is evidently part
of a late intrusion.
Consulting Engineer’s Annual Report, 1940-41. A winze was started South of the
11-12th winze to go down to the 13th level, but, at a depth of 60 feet the reef was cut
off by a dolerite dyke.
Monthly report up to midnight 26th May 1940
Ninth level- The drive North from the Sub-incline, was extended for 12 feet and
driven on what appeared to be a reef, as it was quartz and carried minerals.
The drive has swung to the hanging and strikes parallel to the general run of faults.
There is only a trace and strikes of gold and calcite crystals have appeared in the face,
so that it must be presumed to be a fault fissure.

19th Feb 1937

General - Now that we know more about the Beatrice reef it is possible to sum up our
chances. It is clear that the values occur in shots in a main channel at those points
where a dark glassy quartz is found.
The occurrence of a light chocolate colored band of silicified country rock on either
side of the quartz reef usually indicates good value.
The general impression gained in driving. on the reef is is that irregular it is irregular
in occurrence and width the quartz sometimes making on the hanging wall and
sometimes on the footwall of the channel, and splitting into 2 or 3 small reefs within
the main channel. The channel Itself is a sheared zone rather than a fracture.
The reef carries considerable mineral mainly. galena with some pyrite.
It is presumed that the gold does not occur in chemical or mechanical combination in
the sulphides.Samples which pan give a heavy galena concentrate in the pan and show
no gold are found to give no gold on assay.The country round the mine is epidiorite
which is in contact with granite across the Umfuli River.

The ore itself is clean quartz which varies considerably in color, but is
characteristically of a dark bluish-black hue. The reef is lenticular, the richer Lenses
being separated by areas barren of quartz.
A visit to the Beatrice Mine, Salisbury district, 15.6.36
It was noticed that whilst the reef in the 3rd level is composed of whitish quartz with
partings of schist, reef on the 4th level is compact body of dark blue quartz quite
different in appearance.
1 January 1901
Country rock - Both hanging and footwall are composed of metamorphic schists
which are very decomposed down to water level.
Numerous doleritic dykes intersect the reef, especially in the Northern end.

Visit to the Beatrice Mine 6 Feb 1941

“..on a private road which runs from the mine almost ESE to Mr Howard's homestead,
Nengwa, various kinds of greenstone crop out at short interval.
Dolerite also outcrops at intervals in the vlei to the east. At 1.8 miles from the mine
office and on the west, north and south sides of the kopje- behind Mr Howard's house
dolerite crops out beneath greenstones (pillow lavas and epidiorite).The dolerite
becomes fine-grained upwards against the greenstones. It is here quite clearly lying in
a flat sill, sensibly horizontal
December 1939 and January 1940 Report, A.M. Mcgregor
The ore of the Beatrice mine is vein quartz which forms a reef or reefs striking
generally North & South, across the belt of greenstone Schists which trend east &
west.The principal country rock is epidiorite, manly of andesitic origin, since in most
of the slides examined ferromagnesian minerals contribute not more than 50% of the
rockInter-bedded fine-graded arkosic sediments occur near the Southern & northern
ends of the reef.In several parts of the mine, particularly the central part near the rich
shoot on the 4th, 5th & 6th levels, the hanging wall, & sometimes the footwall is
composed of biotite schist.
In the cross cuts this rock occurs as wavy seams enclosing lenses of epidiorite and
may mark the margins of original pillows.
The rocks at some time appear to have undergone high grade metamorphism, since a
mineral resembling cordierite is present in some of the sediments and a greenstone in
a crosscut on the 4th level contains a metamorphic pyroxene.
Comparatively late movements have given rise to Vughs lined with Crystalline calcite
associated with phillipsite (hydrous silicate of aluminium & calcium.)

REPORT ON SPECIMENS FOR DETERMINATION: H.B.

MAUFE,:RECEIVED AT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OFFICE: 30 MARCH
1938
Specimen from tenth level footwall 52 feet south,Beatrice Mine.
A slide shows the rock to be a fine grained one consisting largely of secondary
amphibolite,epidote,zoisite and carbonate and to a small extent of felspar,with a little
quartz(other than that present in veinlets accompanied by zoisite and carbonate).
The specimen seems to be an epidotized and zoitized greenstone.

Specimen from tenth level hanging wall 52 feet south,Beatrice Mine

In the specimen there is more secondary amphibole and less epidote and zoisite.
Quartz and felspar and a little carbonate are also present. The specimen is veined with
quartz and is too fine-grained to ascertain how much of the colorless mineral content
is felspar and how much is quartz.
Fine grained greenstone
Small specimen from tenth level station,Beatrice Mine
Consists mainly of epidote,zoisite and quartz with some hornblende,felspar and
carbonate.
Fine-grained quartz-epidote rock.
Specimen from tenth level station,Beatrice Mine
The specimen consists essentially of secondary amphibole,quartz,felspar and iron
ore,the constituets being so arranged as to give schistocity to the rock. There appears
to be rather too little hornblende and too much quartz an igneous rock and the rock is
also too fine-grained. However,none of these criteria are sufficiently reliable to enable
one state whether the rock is of igneous or sedimentary origin but in view of the
proximity of the foregoing rocks it is more probably of igneous origin.
Hornblende-schist
Specimen from near peg 151, 9th level station,Beatrice Mine
A very fine-grained rock consisting essentially of interlocking grains of quartz and
felspar (some of the latter being rather sericitized),and flecked with small flakes of
pale brown biotite. Other minerals present are chlorite,carbonate ,zoisite and metallic
minerals.
The origin is doubtful.