Banket, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

term, applied to the beds of auriferous conglomerate, chiefly occurring in the Witwatersrand gold-fields. The name was given to these beds from their resemblance to a pastry, known in Dutch as ''banket'', resembling

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

hard-bake. The word is the same as banquet, and is derived ultimately from bank or bench, meaning table-feast, hence applied to any delicacy or to various kinds of

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

, a use now obsolete in English.

References

Ore deposits Afrikaans words and phrases South African English Culture of South Africa Geology of South Africa Mining in South Africa Mining terminology {{SouthAfrica-stub