Vredefort Dome on R2 coin
2008-08-11 21:31
Bloemfontein - The Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site will be struck on a R2 gold commemorative coin, the South African Mint announced on Monday.
This would take place on a koppie in the Vredefort Dome during the opening of the International Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution IV Conference on Sunday, August 17.
Spokesperson of the SA Mint's marketing department Sandy de Kock said the Vredefort Dome coin formed part of the Mint's World Heritage Site Series of coins.
"This huge conference seemed to be an ideal place and opportunity to strike the coin," she said.
It was estimated that a meteorite, the size of Table Mountain, slammed into the planet close to where Vredefort now lies, some 2020 million years ago.
The impact took four minutes to gouge out a crater up to 50 kilometres deep, which quickly collapsed.
The collapsed crater eventually became 300 kilometres wide and several kilometres deep, filled with rock debris and a thick layer of molten rock.
The official striking of the R2 gold coin would be attended by MEC's from the Free State and the North West provinces, and scientists and delegates from around the world, at the conference.
- SAPA
