Professor Theophilus Clavell Davies

Name: Theophilus Clavell Davies

Position: Retired Professor – Faculty of Natural Sciences

Email: davies.theophilus@mut.ac.za / daviestheophilus2025@yahoo.com

Theophilus Clavell Davies received his B.Sc. (Geology and Chemistry) at the University of Sierra Leone before moving over to the University of Wales, Great Britain, where he completed both his M.Sc. (Geochemistry) and Ph.D. (Applied Geochemistry) degrees. He is currently a Research Professor (Environmental and Medical Geology), a Chartered Geologist, and Environmental Consultant, based at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa. Formerly Council Member and Trustee of the Geological Society of London (1996 – 2000), he is presently Regional Councillor for Africa of the Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG) and member of the ‘Supervisory Board’ of the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA). Davies’ geoscientific activities are as disparate as they are profound, but his abiding interest centres around the

role of geo-environmental variables as causal factors in the aetiology of some obscure diseases (of unknown aetiology) in Africa, as well as the health impacts of emissions from mining and related industrial processes. He has taught and carried out research, community engagement and consultancy in Germany, Great Britain, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He has published over 200 papers in course of these activities, some of which appear in the most reputable international geoscience journals. He is Associate Editor or Reviewer for a number of high impact journals, including the Journal of Geochemical Exploration [impact score = 3.66 (2020)] and the Journal of African Earth Sciences [impact factor = 2.046 (2020)]. Major awards include two from the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany (1986; 1988) and another from the NMGS/Shell Petroleum Ltd. (2014) in recognition of “…persistent and consistent excellent research on the environmental geology of

the African continent” [sic].

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Honours and Awards

     

  • Nominated Fellow, African Academy of Sciences, 2015       
  • Received ‘Shell Petroleum Meritorious Award for 2014’ of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) “In Recognition of Persistent and Consistent Contributions to the Development of Mining and Geosciences in Africa” (sic)       
  • Visiting Professor, Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Aachen University of Technology in 2014       
  • Received National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) rating as “Established Researcher” in 2012       
  • Inducted into Maqui’s “WHOs WHO in the World” in 2011       
  • Invited as ‘Visiting Professor’ by GEOMAR, Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, 2011
  • Invited as ‘Visiting Professor’, University of Braunschweig, 1998
  • Invited as ‘Visiting Scientist’, University of Hamburg, 1994       
  • Nominated Fellow of the American Biographical Institute (FABI), 1994       
  • Elected Chartered Geologist (CGeol) of the Geological Society of London, 1994
  • Invited as ‘Visiting Scientist’, University of Karlsruhe, 1992       
  • Awarded Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1986 – 1988       
  • DAAD ‘Visiting Scientist’, Institute of Mineralogy and Ore Deposits, Aachen University of Technology 1983
  • Elected Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS), 1974

International Workshops and Conferences Organised

       

  • A code for geoscientific fieldwork in Nigeria and Africa: Guidelines on health and safety issues in mapping, mineral exploration, geoecological research and geotourism, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 06 – 09 November 2018       
  • “Organised Session” – ‘Urban Geochemistry and Pollution of African Megacities’, Joint International Conference on Environment, Health, GIS and Agriculture, Galway, Ireland, 2016       
  • Addressing Environmental and Health Impacts of Active and Abandoned Mines in Sub- Saharan Africa, Prague, Czech Republic, 26 – 28 May 2014       
  • Addressing Environmental Health Impacts of Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa Through Improvements in Mitigation and Rehabilitation Techniques, Yaounde, Cameroon 25 – 29 June 2013       
  • UNESCO/SIDA Scoping Workshop on Environmental and Health Impacts of Active and Abandoned Mines in Sub- Saharan Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, 27 – 30 January 2013       
  • Quest for Pragmatic Solutions to Complex Environmental and Health Problems of Small-Scale Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa, 27 – 30 June 2012, Kumasi, Ghana       
  • Addressing Environmental Health Impacts of Major and Abandoned Mines in Sub- Saharan Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 – 12 November 2011       
  • Geoenvironmental Hazards and Disasters in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 01 – 03 July 2002       
  • East and Southern Africa Regional Workshop on Geomedicine, Nairobi, Kenya, 23 – 27 June 1999

Committees and membership

      

  • Elected to the Governing Council and Board of Trustees of the Geological Society of London, 1996 (Served till 2000) ·       
  • Founder and Chair of the East and Southern Africa Association of Medical Geology (ESAAMEG), 1999 ·       
  • Board Member, IUGS Commission on Geosciences for Environmental Management (GEM), 1990 – 2006·       
  • Head, Department of Environmental Health, School of Environmental Studies, Moi University, Kenya, 2003·       
  • Regional Councillor for Southern Africa, Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG), 2006 – Present·       
  • Member of the Grants Committee, National Research Foundation of South Africa, Blue Skies Research Programme, 2011·       
  • Member of the Adjudication Panel, National Research Foundation of South Africa, Community Engagement Research Programme: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and African Origins, 2013 ·       
  • Co-cordinator, UNESCO/SIDA Project on Environmental and Health Impacts of Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2013·       
  • Councillor for Geosciences, International Medical Geology
  • Association (IMGA), 2011 – 2015; now Member of the IMGA Audit Supervisory Committee·       
  • Executive Committee, Mineralogical Society of South Africa (MINSA), 2014 ·       
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, UNESCO International Centre for Global-Scale Geochemistry, 2016

Consultancy work


  • 2018: Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (A code for Geoscientific Fieldwork in Nigeria and Africa: Guidelines on Health and
  • Safety Issues in Mapping, Mineral Exploration, Geoecological Research and Geotourism)
  • 2007: Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ministry of Science and Technology, Bauchi State (National Landslide Mapping Programme)       
  • 2007: Volkswagen Foundation of Germany (Project Evaluation, Coltan Environmental Management), Kigali, Rwanda
  • 1993: National Bank of Kenya (Gemstone Deposits Prospecting, Tsavo National Park, Kenya) – Led to the discovery of huge gemstone deposits and commissioning of a mine
  • 1992: Lecturer. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (Pedagogy, Environmental Geosciences), Yalta,  
  • 1984: Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (University Education of the Geologist in African Countries)
  • 1984: United States Geographical Expedition to West Africa (Late Precambrian Glacigenic Sediments)
  • 1984: Messrs Texault and Co. Ltd. of Sierra Leone (Solid Waste Management Options at the Kingtom Jetty, Freetwn, Sierra Leone)

Project leadership and co-leadership


  • 2017 – 2018: A Code for Geoscientific Fieldwork in Africa: Guidelines on Health and Safety Issues in Mapping, Mineral Exploration, Geoecological Research and
  • Geotourism; Sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Nigeria and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. Project budget = EURO 9,000 (AvH) + Nigeria Naira 9 Million (Nigerian Government)       
  • 2015 – 2018: Mapping and Assessing the Environmental and Health Impacts of Abandoned Mines in Sub-Saharan Africa; Sponsored by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Extra-Budgetary Project Funding for 2013 = ca. US$ 24,000—-       
  • 2014: Integrating HIV and AIDS Education into the Curriculum of Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). Sponsored by the Department of Higher Education of South Africa. Project budget, N/A        
  • 2011 – 2014: Environmental and Health Impacts of Mining in Africa; Sponsored by UNESCO/SIDA/MUT; Project budget = ca. US$ 48,000       
  • 2010: Addressing Environmental Health Impacts of Trace Metals from Accumulated Tailings Sites in Major Mining Outfits in Limpopo Province, Republic of South Africa and the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and the German Research Cooperation. Project budget, ca. ZAR 250,000       
  • 1997 – 2004: Epidemiological Studies in Assessing Health effects of Populations Exposed to Releases From Waste Disposal Sites in the Homa Hills, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya; Sponsored by NUFFIC Dutch Organisation and Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. Project budget = ca. US$ 40,000       
  • 1997 – 2002: Enabling Strategies for Environmental Management in Growing Multi-Million Cities: An Economic and Environmental Assessment of
  • Solid Waste Systems in Kenya and India. Sponsored by the European Union. Project budget = ca. US$ 40,000

Current projects


  • Project 1: Assessment of potentially harmful element circulation and introduction of new dimensions in phytoremediation research at abandoned mines in Gauteng Province, South Africa
  • Project 2: Combating neonatal, maternal and child deaths from ionising radiation exposure around uranium and gold mines in Sub-Saharan Africa: A medical geology perspective
  • Project 3: The role of geoenvironmental variables in understanding causal cofactors of diseases of unknown aetiology in Africa
  • Project 4: Impact of climate change on human health in African coastal cities: Case study from the city of Lagos, Nigeria, and the city of Durban, South Africa
  • Project 5: Proposed UNESCO Chair of Medical Geology
  • Project 6: Medical Geology of Africa: A Textbook for African Tertiary Institutions (Writing in progress)
  • Project 7: Medical Geology Applications of an Africa Geochemical Database
  • Project 8: Urban Geochemistry of African Megacities
  • Project 9: Environmental Geology of Nigeria – Book Project

Publications


Shapi, M., Jordaan, M.A., Mbambo, A.T., DAVIES, T.C., Chirenje, E. and Dube, M., 2021. Determination of potentially harmful element (PHE) distribution in water bodies in Krugersdorp, a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa. MINERALS, 2021; 11 (10), 1133. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11101133 (accessed 15.10.2021).


DAVIES, T.C., 2021. Recent applied geochemistry research in Africa contributes towards understanding causal cofactors of diseases of unknown aetiology. EXPLORE 190, 13 – 25. https://www.appliedgeochemists.org/sites/default/files/documents/Explore%20issues/EXPLORE190-MArch2021.pdf (accessed 04.08.2021).


Chukwu, Obiora, S.C. and DAVIES, T.C., 2021. Geochemistry of LCT Pegmatites in part of Northeastern Nasarawa state, Northcentral Nigeria. EXPLORE 192, 1 – 15. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?projector=1 (accessed 15.09.2021).


Meck, M.L., Mudimbu, D. and DAVIES, T.C., 2020. Accumulation of potentially harmful elements in edible parts of vegetables grown on two different geological substrates in Zimbabwe. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 208, 106392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2019.106392 (accessed 04.07.2021).


Shapi, M., Jordaan, M.A., Nadasan, D.S., DAVIES, T.C., Chirenje, E., Dube, M. and Lekoa, M.R., 2020. Analysis of the distribution of some potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. MINERALS 10, 151; DOI:10.3390/min10020151.


DAVIES, T.C., 2019. A Medical Geology Curriculum for African Geoscience Institutions. Scientific African 6. e00131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00131.


Toteu, S.F., Mahe, G., Moritz, R., Sracek, O., DAVIES, T.C. and Ramasamy, J., 2019. Environmental, Health and Social Legacies of Mining Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Volume 204, Pages 289


Obiora, S.C., Chukwu, A. and DAVIES, T.C., 2019. Contamination of the potable water supply in the lead-zinc mining communities of Enyigba, southeastern Nigeria. Mine Water and the Environment 38 (1), 148 – 157.


Ibe, C.U., Obiora, S.C. and DAVIES, T.C., 2019. Petrological and geochemical study of the Precambrian basement complex rocks in Katchuan Irruan areas, southeast of Ogoja, southeastern Nigeria. EXPLORE, Volume 185, Pages 11 – 18


DAVIES, T.C., 2019. Application of professional ethics in geoscience education in Africa. Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Societas Humboldtiana Polonorium: Science in the Age of Globalisation. Szczecin, Poland, 12 – 15 September, 2019; p. 57. Publ. ZUT, Szczecine, Poland; ISBN: 978-83-8185-0001.


DAVIES, T.C., 2019. Annual Regional Report on Geochemical Database, Africa. In: D. Smith (Ed.). “2018 Annual Report of the International Union of Geological Sciences Commission on Global Geochemical Baselines”, p. 64 – 69. Accessible at: https://www.globalgeochemicalbaselines.eu/datafiles/file/IUGS CGGB_2018_Annual_Report_final.pdf (accessed 16.06.2019).


DAVIES, T.C., 2019. A Code for Geoscientific Fieldwork in Nigeria and Africa: Guidelines on Health and Safety Issues in Mapping, Mineral Exploration, Geoecological Research and Geotourism. Report by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 75 pp.


DAVIES, T.C., 2018. BOOK: A Code for Geoscientific Fieldwork in Africa: Guidelines on Health and Safety Issues in Mapping, Mineral Exploration, Geoecological Research and Geotourism. Nova Science Publishers, New York. ISBN: 978-1-53613-033-1. 325 pp.



Jordaan, M.A., Mimba, M.E., NguemheFils, S.C., Edith-Etakah, E.T., Shapi, M., Joseph Penaye, J. and DAVIES T.C., 2018. Occurrence and levels of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in natural waters of the gold mining areas of the Kette-Batouri Region of Eastern Cameroon. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 190, No. 7, p. 1 – 8. https://agris.fao.org/agris search/search.do?recordID=US201800259409 (accessed 21.09.2021).


Kazeem, M.I., Bankole, H.A., Fatai, A.A., Adenowo, A.F. and DAVIES, T.C., 2018. Antidiabetic Functional Foods With Antiglycation Properties. In: Mérillon, J.M. and Ramawat K. (Eds). Bioactive Molecules in Food. Reference Series in Phytochemistry, p. 1 – 29. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54528-8_16-1. Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54528-8.


DAVIES, T.C., 2018. Environmental Health Impacts of Mining in Africa. In: Academy of Science of South Africa (Ed.): Linking Science, Society, Business and Policy for the Sustainable Use of Abandoned Mines in the SADC Region, p. 15 – 16. ISBN 978-0-6399410-0-4; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2018/0025. Proceedings of the Science Business Society Dialogue Conference, 28 – 30 November 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa, p. 15 – 16. Publ. Academy of Science of South Africa.


DAVIES, T.C., 2018. IUGS Africa Geochemical Database Report for 2017. In: Smith, D., et al. (Ed.), “2017 Annual Report of the IUGS Commission on Global Geochemical Baselines“, p. 17-20. Accessible at: http://www.globalgeochemicalbaselines.eu/wp content/uploads/2018/01/IUGS_CGGB_Annual_Report_2017_Final_Web.pdf (accessed 17.01.2018).


DAVIES, T.C., 2018. Medical geology applications of an Africa geochemical database. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Environmental Chemistry and Engineering: Accentuating Novel Researchers and Frontline Advances of Environmental Chemistry. Berlin, Germany, 20 – 22 September 2018.


Poswa, T.T. and DAVIES, T.C., 2017. The Nature and Articulation of Ethical Codes onTailings Management in South Africa. GEOSCIENCES, Vol. 7 (4), 101; DOI:10.3390/geosciences7040101.


Edith-Etakah, B.T., Shapi, M., Penaye , J., Mimba, M.E., NguemheFils, S.C., Nadasan, D.S., DAVIES, T.C. and Jordaan, M.A., 2017. Background Concentrations of Potentially Harmful Elements in Soils of the Kette-Batouri Region, Eastern Cameroon. Research Journal of Environmental Toxicology, Vol. 11 (1), p. 40 – 54. DOI: 10.3923/rjet.2017.40.54.


DAVIES, T.C., 2016. Applied Geochemistry: Recent Trends and Issues in Africa (2012 – 2016). Publ. Association of Applied Geochemists, Ontario, Canada. URL: https://www.appliedgeochemists.org/index.php/regional-councillor-reports/africa (accessed 29.04.2017).


Kazeem, M.I. and DAVIES, T.C., 2016. Anti-diabetic Functional Foods as Sources of Insulin Secreting, Insulin Sensitizing and Insulin Mimetic Agents. Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 20, p. 122 – 138.


Obiora, S.C., Chukwu, A., Toteu, S.F. and DAVIES, T.C., 2016. Assessment of heavy metal contamination in soils around lead (Pb)-zinc (Zn) mining areas in Enyigba, Southeastern Nigeria. Journal of the Geological Society of India Vol. 87, Issue 4, p. 453 – 462.


Obiora, S.C., Chuckwu, A. and DAVIES, T.C., 2016. Heavy metals and health risk assessment of arable soils and food crops around Pb-Zn mining localities in Enyigba, southeastern Nigeria. Journal of African Earth Sciences, Volume 116, p. 182 – 189.


DAVIES, T.C., 2015. Urban Geology of African Megacities. Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 110, p. 188 – 226. DOI: 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.06.01, Elsevier.


Arthur, G.D., Aremu, A.O., Kulkarni, M.G., Okem, A., Stirk, W.A., DAVIES, T.C. and Van Staden, J., 2015. Can the use of natural biostimulants be a potential means of phytoremediating contaminated soils from goldmines in South Africa? International Journal of Phytoremediation. DOI: 10.1080/15226514.2015.1109602.


Buthelezi, S.A. and DAVIES, T.C., 2015. Carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure from vehicular transportation and other industrial activities in the vicinity of Umlazi Township, South of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. DOI: 10.1080/0035919X.2015.1046972. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/4EFWpidtFKmHMcX6dETW/full#.VZ9qlvmqqko Taylor & Francis.


Kazeem, M.I. and DAVIES, T.C., 2015. Hypoglycaemic potential of leaf extracts of Lonchocarpus cyanescens (Schum. And Thonn) Benth. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2015.1078264. Taylor and Francis. p. 1- 6.


DAVIES, T.C., 2015. Urban geochemistry of Lagos. Proceedings of the 27th International Symposium of the Association of Applied Geochemists, 20 – 24 April, 2015, Tucson, Arizona


Bigara, A.D. and DAVIES, T.C., 2015. Integration of HIV and AIDS Education into the Curriculum at Mangosuthu University of Technology. https://www.researchgate.net/project/Integration-of-HIV-and-AIDS-education-into-the-curriculum at-Mangosuthu-University-of-Technology (accessed 17.05.2017).


Kříbek, B., DAVIES, T.C. and De Vivo, B. (Editors), 2014. Impacts of Mining and Mineral Processing on the Environment and Human Health in Africa. “Special Issue”, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 144, Part C, p. 387 – 580 (193 pages). Elsevier – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03756742/144/part/PC


Kříbek, B. and DAVIES, T.C. (Editors), 2014. Addressing Environmental and Health Impacts of Active and Abandoned Mines in Sub- Saharan Africa. Proceedings of the “Joint Closing Workshop of IGCP/UNESCO/SIDA Projects 594 and 606”, Prague, Czech Republic, 26 – 28 May, 2014. Czech Geological Survey; ISBN: 978-80-7075-858-8. 205 p. * (With 10 other papers co-authored by DAVIES in this Volume, not appearing on this list; but available at: http://www.geology.cz/igcp594/prague2014/closing_workshop_igcp_prague-2014.pdf ).


Buthelezi, S.A. and DAVIES, T.C., 2014. The environmental and health impacts of carbon emissions from active and abandoned coal mines in South Africa: A review of secondary data. In: Kříbek, B. and DAVIES, T.C. (Editors), 2014. Addressing Environmental and Health Impacts of Active and Abandoned Mines in Sub- Saharan Africa. Proceedings of the “Joint Closing Workshop of IGCP/UNESCO/SIDA Projects 594 and 606”, Prague, Czech Republic, 26 – 28 May, 2014. Czech Geological Survey; ISBN: 978-80-7075-858-8. p. 23 – 26. Also available at: http://www.ehrn.co.za/download/lecture_series_12.pdf (accessed 03.07.15).


DAVIES, T.C., Kříbek, B., Ngure, V., Poswa, T.T., Arthur, G.D. and Ettler, V., 2014. Report: Joint Closing Workshop of the IGCP/UNESCO/SIDA Projects 594 and 606. EPISODES, Journal of International Geoscience, Vol. 37, No. 3, p. 222 – 223.


Kříbek, B. De Vivo and DAVIES, T.C., 2014. Impacts of mining and mineral processing on the environment and human health in Africa. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 144, Part C, p. 387 – 390. Elsevier.


Ngure, V., DAVIES, T.C., Kinuthia, G., Sitati, N., Shisia, S., and Oyoo-Okoth, E., 2014. Concentration levels of potentially harmful elements from gold mining in Lake Victoria Region, Kenya: Environmental and health implications. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 144, Part C, p. 511 – 516. Elsevier.


IUGS/IAGC Task Group (Including DAVIES, T.C.), 2014. “2014 Annual Report for the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)/International Association of Geochemistry (IAGC) Task Group on Global Geochemical Baselines”. URL: http://www.globalgeochemicalbaselines.eu/