Introduction The Goanikontes area is situated along the Swakop River, west of the confuence with the Khan River and approximately 35 km inland from the town of Swako- pmund (Fig. 1). The area lies within the Central Zone of the northwest-trending branch of the Damara Oro- gen which is characterised by a large number of igneous bodies that are dominantly granitic (Miller, 1983). Sheeted granitoid intrusions are extremely well exposed in the Khan and Swakop Rivers. These leu- cogranite sheets, locally termed alaskites, are minera- logically and texturally variable and are emplaced into both basement rocks and younger Etusis, Khan, Rössing and Chuos Formations of the Damaran cover sequence. Different types of alaskite sheets can be distinguished in the feld although there is probably a continuum be- tween some of these alaskite types. Late-stage sheeted granite intrusions are locally of economic interest on account of the associated uranium mineralisation. The Rössing Mine has produced ura- nium since the late 1970s and an uranium anomaly in the Goanikontes area has been investigated for its eco- nomic potential although it has never been developed. Detailed feldwork has been carried out in the area of the Goanikontes uranium anomaly to make compari- sons and contrasts with the Rössing deposit as part of a project to understand controls on mineralisation. The work in this paper is a preliminary report based largely on feldwork. Stratigraphy and structure The Damaran stratigraphy as defned by SACS Communs geol. Surv. Namibia, 10 (1995), 51-56 Granites and their mineralisation in the Swakop River area around Goanikontes, Namibia P. Nex 1 and J.A. Kinnaird 2 1 Department of Geology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland 2 Department of Geology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KYI6 9ST, Scotland The Goanikontes area lies within the Central Zone of the northwest -trending branch of the Damara Orogen. The cover succession of the area is in tectonic contact with older pre-Damaran basement rocks. Sheeted granitoid intrusions are extremely well exposed and these leucogranite sheets, locally termed alaskites, intrude both basement and the Damaran cover sequence. The area is characterised by a northeast-plunging anticline which is truncated by a high strain zone to the east. Red and grey granite emplacement was fol- lowed by sheeted leucogranite intrusions which are preferentially located within the high strain zone. These sheets can be classifed into six different types and ages on the basis of feld characteristics. Major element data on the leucogranites, recalculated into cation normative compositions, show a compositional range from granodiorite to alkali feldspar granite, whereas modal proportions indicate a range from monzogranite to alkali feldspar granite. There is, however, an overall compositional trend, with increasing content of alkali feldspar with younger age. Primary uranium mineralisation is restricted to a single leucogranite type and is confned to the upper Khan and Rössing Formations within the high strain zone. Secondary hydrothermal mineralisation is widespread and is not restricted to either the high strain zone or any lithological unit. 51