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27 June 2018 Photo Supplied
Kovsie netball out to break drought
Former South African Under-21 representative in her fourth year as Kovsie player, Lefébre Rademan, is the new Kovsie captain for the upcoming national student champions
The Kovsie netball team is out to claim back its title at the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament in 2018. 

The tournament takes place from 2 to 6 July 2018 on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). It has been exactly 20 years since the event was last staged in the City of Roses. The last time the Kovsies were able to win the trophy was in 2013. Tanya Mostert, Kovsie netball goal defender who will play her sixth USSA tournament this coming July, is the only remaining member from the previous squad.

The Kovsie netball squad field a strong team comprising 12 players who have represented the province, and they are also considered the strongest contenders in the upcoming championships. The Free State Crinums are the only university team to field 12 players with senior provincial experience. Khanyisa Chawane, who was named Player of the Tournament at the conclusion of the Premier League, recovered sufficiently from her ankle injury and has been appointed as the team’s vice-captain.

Taking the reigns as the new Kovsie netball team captain is the versatile Lefébre Rademan.
 
The six teams in the Super league will compete from Monday 2 July to Wednesday 4 July, with the semi-final and final matches following on Thursday 5 July and Friday 6 July 2018.

The following players will form the team for the USSA tournament: Alicia Puren, Ané Retief, Gertriana Retief, Jana Scholtz, Khanyisa Chawane, Khomotso Mamburu, Lefébre Rademan (captain), Marétha van Heerden, Marna Claassens, Meagan Roux, Sikholiwe Mdletshe, Tanya Mostert.

News Archive

Scientists discover a water reservoir beneath the Free State
2009-12-09

Dr Holger Sommer

The Mantle Research Group Bloemfontein (MRGB), under the leadership of Dr Holger Sommer, a senior lecturer in the Department of Geology at the University of the Free State (UFS), has discovered an enormous water reservoir 160 km beneath the Free State.

This discovery, according to Dr Sommer, is the first of its kind in South Africa after he had previously made a similar finding in Colorado, USA.

However, this water cannot be used for human consumption. “It is not frozen water; it is not molecular water; it is not fresh water; it is not salty water; it is OH – water which is sitting in the crystal lattice,” he said.

He said the reservoir was comparable in size to Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
The researchers collected eclogites from the Roberts Victor (Rovic) Mine close to the town of Boshof, south-west of the Free State, for their study.

“The Rovic eclogites are rocks which represent former oceanic crust transported into the earth’s interior by complex plate tectonic processes about 2.0 billion years ago,” explained Dr Sommer.

“These rocks were finally carried back to the earth’s surface by volcanic (kimberlite) eruptions around 130 million years ago. Eclogitic rocks are therefore a window into the Earth’s interior.”

The question from the beginning for all MRGB scientists was: Is there water inside these rocks in such depth, and if so, where is it located?

To answer this question, Dr Sommer and his research fellows separated single mineral grains from eclogite samples and prepared about 100 micrometer (0,1 mm) thick rock sections. Afterwards, specific particle accelerator (Synchrotron) measurements were carried out in the city of Karlsruhe in Germany.

“And indeed, the MRGB found water inside the studied rocks from the Roberts Victor Mine,” he said. “The water was located in defect structures in crystal lattices and along boundaries between single mineral grains.”

“The occurrence of water at such depth would give first evidence that all water of the oceans could be stored five to ten times in the earth’s mantle.”
The study was conducted about a year ago.
 

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
4 December 2009

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