• Lecturer
  • Undergraduate Program Coordinator
  • Departmental Website Administrator
 
 
Degrees
  • BSc Monash University 1993, Geology and Chemistry
  • MSc Monash University 1995,
  • PhD Monash University 2001
Employment
  • 2004-current - Lecturer, Dept Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, RSA
  • 2002-3 - NRF Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Cape Town, RSA
  • 2000-1 - Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Cape Town, RSA
  • 1998 - Research Assistant, Monash University Australia
Activities and Honours
  • IAGC certificate of recognition for contribution towards the IAGC, 2008
  • Chairperson, Western Cape Branch Geological Society of South Africa, 2005-2008
  • Committee Member, 2008 Cape Town AAPG International Convention and Exhibition
  • Chair, Organising committee, 7th International Symposium on Applied Isotope Geochemistry
  • Committee Member, 6th Hutton Symposium on the origin of granites and related rocks
  • Treasurer, Western Cape Branch Geological Society of South Africa, 2004
  • Secretary, Western Cape Branch Geological Society of South Africa, 2003-4
  • Queen’s Trust Australia Award (jointly with J. McBride), 2000
  • Council Member, Victorian Division of the Geological Society of Australia, 1999-2001
My research interests centre around the integrated use of stable isotope geochemistry and petrology to understand regional geological problems and tectonic environments. Examples of projects that I am working on include:
  • Rhyolite magmatism associated with large igneous provinces with reference to the Parana/Etendeka and Karoo provinces
    • Lebombo Monocline in Swaziland and Mozambique
    • Etendeka Province and Okenyenya Complex in Namibia
  • Relationship between fluid flow and fault development with application to both thrust and extensional detachment faults
    • Naukluft Nappe, Namibia
    • Barberton Extensional Detachment
    • Monapo Complex Mozambique
  • Fluid Flow in high-pressure environments and its implications for trace element recycling in subduction zones
    • Corsica
    • Western Alps
I am also working on aspects of groundwater management in the Naukluft region of Namibia and using various isotopes to constrain climate change impacts on groundwater systems in arid environments, particularly through the combined use of O, C, H, N and C14 isotopes.
 
1. Terrane Amalgamation in Northern Mozambique and its Implications for Gondwana Assembly
Project Partners
  • Dr Christie Rowe, University of Cape Town
  • Dr Paul Macey, Council for Geoscience
Overview
  • The assembly and dispersal of the supercontinent Gondwana constitute two of the principle geological events that have defined much of the tectonostratigraphic architecture of Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Madagascar, South America and India. How these events unfolded is central to our understanding of geological, biological and human evolution of these regions. In the geological context, geophysics in combination with field-based studies of the remains of major Neoproterozoic orogenic belts as well as volcanosedimentary successions in Phanerozoic basins have allowed high confidence reconstructions of the geometric fit of Gondwana components prior to the onset of rifting and continental breakup. In contrast, there is continued debate with respect to our understanding of the spatial and temporal development of the continental suture zones that lead to the formation of Gondwana. Detailed studies of the transport direction, timing of exhumation, P-T conditions and related magmatism of these thrusting events have the potential to greatly assist in unravelling the geological evolution of important Gondwana suture zones, particularly with respect to the amalgamation of the different crustal blocks that make up the African continent.
  • The N-S trending, continental-scale Pan-African Mozambique Belt extends along most of the eastern seaboard of the African continent and represents the locus of Himalayan-style mega arc-continent and continent-continent collisions during the closure of the Mozambique Ocean related to the formation of Gondwana. Much of our understanding of the Mozambique Belt is derived from extensive studies of outcrops located in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Egypt. In contrast, northern Mozambique has received little attention and yet occupies a keystone position at the intersection of the Mozambique Belt with other Pan-African orogens in central Africa, Antarctica and Sri Lanka (ie the Zambezi Belt, Maudheim Belt, etc). This problem has recently been addressed through a large-scale field and geophysical mapping program, completed by the geological surveys of South Africa, Norway, Finland, Great Britain and Mozambique under the auspices of the World Bank, to promote mineral exploration in Mozambique. The large amounts of new geological and geochronological data generated in northern Mozambique, and the interpretation thereof, have proven particularly useful in furthering our understanding Gondwana processes in this part of the belt.
Aims and Objectives
  • What is the origin of the different orthogneiss suites that make up the Nampula Subprovince and what tectonic processes led to their amalgamation?
  • What is the origin of the Monapo Complex and what is its relationship to granulite facies nappes to the north?
Postgraduate Opportunities
  • Numerous postgraduate opportunities exist within the project and can be tailored to suit the exact interests and needs of the student. Please contact me for further information
 
2. Structural Evolution of the Naukluft Nappe Complex and its implications for groundwater resources and climate change in Namibia.
Project Partners
  • Dr Christie Rowe, University of Cape Town
  • Dr Benjamin Mapani, University of Namibia
  • Prof Torsten Vennemann, University of Lausanne
  • Prof Chris Harris, University of Cape Town
Aims and Objectives
  • What are the transport pathways for groundwater and groundwater recharge in the Naukluft region and what is their relationship to key structural elements with the Naukluft Mountains?
  • What is the hydrological potential of the Naukluft Mountains in terms of quantity and quality of water and what is the spatial and temporal variation of these parameters within the region?
  • How are human activities impacting on the hydrological potential of the Naukluft Mountains and their capacity to provide a source of water for future development of the coastal region of Namibia around the Namib sand sea and the towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund?
Postgraduate Opportunities
  • Numerous postgraduate opportunities exist within the project and can be tailored to suit the exact interests and needs of the student. Please contact me for further information
 
3. Mineralogical and Minerals Processing Studies of PGE Redistribution within the Bushveld Complex
Project Partners
  • Ms Megan Becker, University of Cape Town
  • Prof David Reid, University of Cape Town
Overview More information coming shortly! (Aug 2009)

 
Miller, J.A., Viola, G., and Mancktelow, N., 2008. Oxygen, carbon and strontium isotope constraints on the mechanisms of nappe emplacement and fluid-rock interaction along the subhorizontal Naukluft Thrust, central Namibia. Journal of the Geological Society, London.
 
Miller, J.A. and Harris, C. 2007. Petrogenesis of the Swaziland and northern Natal rhyolites of the Lebombo rifted volcanic margin, south east Africa. Journal of Petrology, 48, 185-218.
 
M.D. Roberts, D.L. Reid, J.A. Miller, I.J. Basson, M. Roberts and D. Smith, 2007. Petrology and whole-rock geochemistry of Normal and Regional Pothole Reef Sub-facies at Northam Platinum Mine: Implications for PGE mineralization in the Rustenburg Layered Suite, Bushveld Complex, South Africa. Mineralium Deposita, 42, 271-292.
 
Viola, G., Mancktelow, N., and Miller, J.A. , 2006. Cyclic frictional-viscous slip oscillations along the base of an advancing nappe complex: Insights into brittle-ductile nappe emplacement mechanisms from the Naukluft Nappe Complex, central Namibia. Tectonics, 25; doi 10.1029/2005TC001939
 
Miller, J.A. and Cartwright, I., 2006. The Formation of Albite Veins During Exhumation of High-Pressure Terranes: A case study from Alpine Corsica. Journal of Metamorphic Petrology, 24, 409-428
 
Buick, I.S., Hand, M. Williams, Ian S., Mawby, J., Miller, J.A. & Nicoll, R.S., 2005. Detrital zircon provenance constraints on the evolution of the Harts Range Metamorphic Complex (central Australia): links to the Centralian Superbasin. Journal Geological Society London, 162, 777-787.
 
Niiranen, T., Mänttäri, I., Poutiainen, M., Oliver, N.H.S. and Miller, J.A., 2005. Genesis of Palaeoproterozoic metasomatic ironstones in the Misi region, northern Finland. Mineralium Deposita, 40, 192-217.
 
Mark, G., Williams, P.J. and Miller, J.A., 2004. Precambrian Fe oxide-(Cu-Au) hydrothermal systems: An isotopic perspective from Scandinavia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta pp. A776.
 
Buick, I.S., Williams, I.S., Gibson, R.L., Cartwright, I., and Miller, J.A., 2003. d13C and U-Pb evidence for a Palaeoproterozoic crustal component in the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt, South Africa. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 160, 601-612.
 
Miller, J.A., Buick, I.S., Cartwright, I., and Barnicoat, A.C., 2002. Fluid processes during the exhumation of high-P metamorphic belts. Mineralogical Magazine, 66, 93-119.
 
Holdsworth, R.E., Hand, M., Miller, J.A., and Buick, I.S., 2001. Continental reactivation and reworking: an introduction. In: Continental Reactivation and Reworking (J.A. Miller, I.S. Buick, M. Hand, and R.E. Holdsworth, editors) Geological Society of London Special Publication, 184, 1-12.
 
Buick, I.S., Miller, J.A., Williams, I.S., and Cartwright, I., 2001. Ordovician high-grade metamorphism of a newly recognised late Neoproterozoic terrane in the northern Harts Range, central Australia. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 19, 373-394.
 
Miller, J.A., Cartwright, I., Buick, I.S., and Barnicoat, A.C., 2001. An O-isotope profile through the HP-LT Corsican ophiolite, France and its implications for fluid flow during subduction. Chemical Geology, 178, 43-69.
 
Miller, J.A., and Cartwright, I., 2000. Distinguishing between ocean floor hydrothermal alteration and fluid-flow during HP-LT metamorphism using oxygen isotope variations in pillow lava cores and rims: examples from Tethyan ophiolites in the Western Alps. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 18, 467-482
 
Das, K., Buick, I.S., Miller, J.A., Hand, M., Mawby, J., Hensen, B., and Yoshida, M., 2000. Geology and tectonic evolution of the Strangways and Harts Range region of the eastern Arunta Inlier: A post-conference “Orogenesis in the Outback” geotraverse. Journal of Geosciences, 43, 249-260.
 
Miller, J.A., Cartwright, I., and Buick, I.S., 1997. Granulite facies metamorphism in the Mallee Bore area, northern Harts Range: implications for the thermal evolution of the eastern Arunta Inlier, central Australia. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 15, 613-629.
 
Miller, J.A., and Cartwright, I., 1997. Early Meteoric Fluid flow in high-grade, low-18O gneisses from the Mallee Bore area, northern Harts Range, central Australia. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 154, 839-848.
 
Current Postgraduate Students
Name
 Meagan Webster
Degree MSc
Thesis Title Origins of tonalitic rocks from the Monapo Complex, northern Mozambique
Current Status Active, started 2009
Name
 Andrea King
Degree MSc
Thesis Title An investigation into the petrological and geochemical implications of IRUP emplacement in the Critical Zone of the Bushveld Complex
Current Status Converted to part-time, currently working in Namibia
Name
 Cecilia Mukosi
Degree MSc - co-supervisor Dr Paul Macey, Council for Geoscience
Thesis Title Petrogenesis of the Ambohiby Igneous Ring Complex, Madagascar and its implications for Gondwana breakup
Current Status Actively Writing Up, started 2007
Name
 Serge Opoubou-Lando
Degree MSc - co-supervisor Ms Megan Becker, Centre for Minerals Processing, UCT
Thesis Title Textural and compositional characterization of chromite in the UG2 Reef: Implications for minerals processing
Current Status Actively Writing Up, started 2007