It is with great pleasure that the IAG Council announces the selection of the bid from the South African Spectroscopy Society to host the Geoanalysis 2009 meeting. What will be the 7th in the series of Geoanalysis conferences is to be held in September 2009 at a venue in the 3000 meter high Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal Province. Located at a distance of some 3 to 4 hours from Johannesburg, the Drakensberg Region has some of the most spectacular scenery in South Africa and has a well developed tradition of hosting national and international conferences at modern resort venues. The climate of Drakensberg during September is characterized by sunny days with cool to cold nights where rare late spring snow on the adjacent mountains can provide magnificent scenery.

Along side of the core themes of the Geoanalysis conference series, the 2009 meeting will also highlight topics of particular importance to the host country: the production of precious metals, assessments of economic ore reserves and the environmental issues being addressed by the mining industry. The Organising Committee for the conference is representative of organisations and professional societies from across the South African earth science community. During the coming months this website will be updated with more precise arrangement details.

Susan Dry - Anglo Research Dr. Christoph Gauert -University of the Free State