SOUTH AFRICA · ENERGY
Key Facts
—The discovery: UCT scientists found evidence of a previously unknown fault beneath the Karoo Basin and called for heightened seismic monitoring, per a study reported July 7.
—The swarm: An area near Leeu Gamka, once seismically quiet, has produced at least 66 earthquakes since 2007, including one of magnitude 4.8.
—The nuance: The quakes are natural, not fracking-related. But critically stressed faults are exactly what shale operations elsewhere have reactivated through wastewater injection.
