The coastal dune cordon of northern KwaZulu-Natal is amongst the highest in the world reaching heights in excess of 180 m and up to 2 km in width. It comprises a complex system of Quaternary stacked dunes of various geomorphologies, types and ages. The dunes contain economic heavy minerals which are currently exploited ~20 km north of Richards Bay. Although mining of these ore sands has been in operation for the last two decades, little work has been undertken on the clay-fraction (<2 m). the distribution of clay assemblages includes kaolinite-illitesmectite- random interstratifications and the accessory minerals quartz, goethite, calcite, feldspars, fluoroapatite and fe-ti oxides, provide a basis for subdividing the dune complex into distinct units. a sedimentological interpretation based on field relations, and geochronological studies show that smectite dominated dune units are younger than the older kaolinite dominated units.>