South Africa hosts ICDP Governance Meetings

South Africa successfully hosted the 2025 International Continental Drilling Program’s (ICDP) Executive Committee and Assembly of Governors meeting in Johannesburg from 05-10 May 2025. This significant event marked the first time the meetings were held in Africa, and highlighted South Africa’s growing involvement in international scientific collaborations. The meetings were held at the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) at the University of Johannesburg, led by Prof Nikki Wagner, who is a member of the ICDP Executive Committee.

The purpose of the meetings was to review and make decisions on the 22 proposals, including both workshop and full drilling project applications, submitted during the latest call. This represented the highest number of submissions ever received by the ICDP and reflected the increasing global interest in scientific drilling initiatives. In addition to proposal evaluations, the AOG, which is the highest decision-making body within the ICDP, discussed strategic priority areas that will guide the future direction of the programme.

To date, five ICDP projects have been approved for drilling in South Africa (https://www.icdp-online.org/projects/by-continent-link/europe-africa/) which highlighted the international significance of South African geoscience research. The NRF co-funded three of the projects. The South African National Committee is actively engaging in discussions to develop further projects under the ICDP framework.

The meetings also included a site visit to the Council for Geosciences National Core Repository at Donkerhoek where the delegation was shown the CGS’s world-class core storage facilities. The visit provided members of the EC and AOG an opportunity to view core drilled in South Africa under the ICDP program, and to interact with the Principal Investigators. This also served to demonstrate the value of South Africa’s ICDP membership, including its societal benefits, contributions to science outreach, and its role in the training and development of early career scientists and youth.

As part of the programme, the delegation visited the Cullinan Diamond Mine, which included an underground and surface tours offering insight into one of the world’s most renowned diamond operations The visit to the gold mine section at Gold Reef City and the Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand provided both historical and cultural context to South Africa’s rich mining and human evolution heritage.

The ICDP is an independent organisation that supports international drilling projects at globally significant geological sites. Its mission is to advance Earth science by exploring the subsurface and funding research with high societal relevance. ICDP achieves this by funding scientific workshops and co-funding continental drilling operations at various scales. South Africa, through the National Research Foundation (NRF), is one of 21 member countries. This membership provides the South African geoscience community with valuable opportunities for international networking, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and access to funding, resources, and global expertise.