Kinnaird school of geosciences, university of the witwatersrand email protected eous complex compiled by judith kinnaird, johan moose kruger and paul nex economic geology research institute, school of geosciences, university of the witwatersrand. The mafic igneous rocks are of deepseated origin, and they occur in thick stratiform sheets, such as the bushveld complex in south africa willemse. The waterberg mine is located in the bushveld igneous complex, approximately 85km north of mokopane town in limpopo province, south africa. The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among magmas derived from a mantle plume c. The bushveld igneous complex bic, south africa, hosts several pgerich units namely the merensky reef, the ug2 chromitite and the platreef. Find out information about bushveld igneous complex. The bushveld igneous complex covers a pearshaped area in the central transvaal. It is divided into an eastern and western lobe, with a further northern extension.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Rock types range in composition from ultramaic to felsic. Geological setting university of the witwatersrand. The stillwater igneous complex is a large layered mafic intrusion lmi located in southern montana in stillwater, sweet grass and park counties. It contains many magmatic ores, pegmatitic and hydrothermal ore deposits and has metamorphosed the floor rocks of the intrusive. The complex is not only unique in size but also in the range and economic signiicance of its contained mineral. The resources of the wbjv project 3 are located approximately 11km along strike from the active merensky reef mining face at the operating bafokeng rasimone platinum mine brpm. In fact, bushveld by itself is a large igneous province lip according to criteria of bryan and ernst 2008. The complex consists essentially of five adjoining, basinshaped masses of igneousrocks. Novel hypothesis for origin of massive chromitites in the bushveld.
Visualisation, 3d modelling and spatial analysis of the rustenburg layered suite, bushveld igneous complex, south africa. Transvaal jade critical zone, bushveld complex, paleoproterozoic, 2. The bushveld complex is situated in the central transvaal, south africa, and covers an area of 67,000 km 2 of which about onethird is concealed by younger formations fig. Bushveld igneous complex of the transvaal gsa bulletin.
The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among magmas. The outline of the whole mass is accordingly lobulate. Jan 31, 2018 the authors declare that all relevant data are available within the article and its supplementary information files. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. Bushveld igneous complex and the overlying rooiberg group felsic volcanic rockssuggestthe possibilitythatthetwo are cogenetic. The bushveld complex is part of the massive bushveld igneous province that also includes voluminous ferroan granites and other felsic rocks, all of similar age of. Farming edit as most of the region tends to be dry, the bushveld is mostly beef cattle and game farming country, with only a few droughtresistant crops such as sorghum and millet being farmed, usually under irrigation. With on the order of 1millionkm3 of igneous rocks, the bushveld igneous complex is by far the worlds largest igneous intrusion, preserving a unique record of magma chamber processes on a truly grand scale. Effect of time on the tensile strength of several bushveld complex rock types iv abstract despite observations of spalling and damage of bushveld complex bc mine excavation wall rock over the passage of time, there have been very few timedependent or creep tests carried out in south africa on rock, particularly on bc rock.
It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin. Nov 14, 2016 upb geochronology documents outofsequence emplacement of ultramafic layers in the bushveld igneous complex of south africa james e. Bushveld igneous complex, south africa aster image gallery. This reef, together with an underlying layer the upper group 2 reef ug2 contains most of the worlds known reserves of platinum group metals. It is approximately 2 billion years old and is divided into four different limbs. The authors declare that all relevant data are available within the article and its supplementary information files. The geomorphological history of the bushveld basin gave rise to four discrete physiographic regions found in the study area. Vanadium resources in titaniferous magnetite deposits. Platinumbearing chromite layers are caused by pressure.
Petrogenesis of the bushveld complex, south africa by. Situated within the northcentral kaapvaal craton, this massive proterozoic intrusive. Molengraaff, henderson, kynaston, mellor, humphrey, hall, wagner, and du toit have published the results of study. The merensky reef is a layer of igneous rock in the bushveld igneous complex in north west, limpopo, gauteng and mpumalanga provinces. The middle part of the early proterozoic was dominated by powerful orogenic. Scientific or technical information contained herein related to the waterberg project can be found in the october 19, 2016 technical report titled independent technical report on the waterberg project including mineral. Use of chromite chemistry for correlation of pgebearing.
Geology 314 accretion of the bushveld complex foreword. The bushveld complex, as exposed at cur rent levels of erosion, consists eastern, western and northern limbs, see figure 1, and is some. Construction expos in south africa recommended for you. Bakubung platinum mine geology regional geology regional setting the wesizwe mining rights area is situated within the 2. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earths. Clarkmostert twp projects the presence of geological structures in igneous complexes such as the bushveld complex in south africa and the great dyke in zimbabwe is to be expected. The geology is described briefly assuming familiarity on the part of the reader. The position of the uitkomst complex relative to the bushveld complex is indicated by the cross adapted after. Keywords northern bushveld complex, rustenburg layered suite rls, regional trends, residual structures, igneous layering, trend surface analysis 1. Until the 1990s, it was envisaged that the magmatic rocks of the bushveld large igneous province evolved over a long period of time, possibly exceeding 100 ma. Hatton anglo american research laboratories pty ltd.
Novel hypothesis for origin of massive chromitites in the. Magmatic ore deposits in layered intrusionsdescriptive. This page was last edited on 24 november 2016, at 04. Upb geochronology documents outofsequence emplacement. The bushveld igneous complex 1983 release info imdb. Reichardt, 1994 gives an estimated volume for the molopo farms complex of 200 000 km3. Their proposition is largely based on the lithological and compositional similarity. Pdf this is the preface to a special issue on various aspects of the bushveld complex, transvaal basin, south africa. The main mineralized zones in the bic that are of economic importance are the ug2 and. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the akas submission guide. The bushveld igneous complex johnson matthey technology. Platinum group metals files waterberg project technical report.
The residual or roof zone of the bushveld complex, south africa. The palaeoproterozoic bushveld complex has been studied in detail in the. The major deposits are of platinum group elements, chrome, nickel, vanadium and uranium. Pdf a felsic end to bushveld differentiation semantic. The paleoproterozoic bushveld igneous complex, the largest known igneous complex on earth, consists of four igneous rock suites. Visualisation, 3d modelling and spatial analysis of the. Not the least of the finds is the amazing body of igneous rocks called the bushveld complex, in the transvaal. Geologic map and stratigraphy introduction to petrology. Bushveld igneous complex c mayer, j jugo and m leybourne harquail school of earth sciences, laurentian university, sudbury, ontario the bushveld igneous complex bic, south africa, hosts several pgerich units namely the merensky reef, the ug2 chromitite and the platreef. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Pmas 100% owned tenements cover areas of one of the worlds largest known layered mafic intrusions, the windimurra complex, which is a close model of south africas mineralrich bushveld igneous complex bic, the worlds dominant source of platinum group metals pgm. The bushveld igneous complex bic is a large layered igneous intrusion within the earths crust, exposed at the edge of the transvaal basin in south africa. The bushveld layered complex of south africa measures up to 100.
Bushveld complex geological formation, south africa. The origin of chromitites in the bushveld complex has been. Bic has three principal pgmbearing ore bodies, that together provide c. The bushveld complex is an extremely large 66 000 km 2, two billion yearold layered igneous intrusion occurring in the northern part of south africa. Upb geochronology documents outofsequence emplacement of. The bushveld complex is a large magmatic province of uncertain origin. Nov 17, 2007 a new geological map of the rustenburg layered suite south of the ysterbergplanknek fault of the northernpotgietersrus limb of the bushveld complex is presented, displaying features that were not available for publication in the past and are considered contributing to the complexity of this region. A new geological map of the rustenburg layered suite south of the ysterbergplanknek fault of the northernpotgietersrus limb of the bushveld complex is presented, displaying features that were not available for publication in the past and are considered contributing to the. Bushveld igneous complex archives state of the planet. Platinum group metals files wbjv project 1 technical report. A vast composite body of plutonic and volcanic rocks in the central part of the transvaal, the bushveld igneous complex includes the platinum reef worked by rustenburg platinum mines limited and constituting the worlds greatest reserve of the platinum metals. The wbjv property is located on the south western limb of the bushveld igneous complex bic, 110km westnorthwest of pretoria and 120km from johannesburg. Platinum is rare and highly concentrated in one location.
The complex includes the merensky reef, which is the worlds biggest source of platinum as well as platinumgroup metals. It lies almost entirely within the bounds of the transvaal. The complex consists of multiple suites of rocks, each of which in turn holds multiple layers. The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among. Its perceived immensity has attracted speculations of extraterrestrial origin by meteorite impact hamilton, 1970. To investigate this possibility we derive a robust new estimate of the major and trace element bulk composition of the bushveld upper zone and upper main zone uumz. Table 1 general estimates for the areal distribution and volume of the various components of the bushveld lip.
It is a large complex covering a major area of the province formerly known as the transvaal which has since been divided up and the bushveld igneous complex now occurs in the following provinces. The rustenburg layered suite of the enormous bushveld igneous complex of south africa has been presumed to have formed by deposition of. Introduction the rustenburg layered suite rls form laterally continues layers that can be correlated across the various limbs of the bushveld igneous complex. It is this formation that overlies the bushveld complex igneous rocks, and was intersected in. Most of it comes from a geological formation the size of west virginia, called the bushveld igneous complex, created two billion years ago as molten lava from earths mantle bubbled to the surface and cooled. The rls cumulate rocks have exposure at three limbs. The bushveld complex, as exposed at cur rent levels of erosion, consists eastern, western and northern limbs, see figure 1. The location of the bushveld igneous complex, south africa. Drilling through the largest magma chamber on earth. This article describes the geological and economic aspects of this unusually interesting formation. Bushveld igneous complex article about bushveld igneous. G314 advanced igneous petrology 2007 departement of geology, geography and environmental studies geology 314 accretion of the bushveld complex foreword.
Many other lopoliths are either composite or differentiated. Introduction to the bushveld complex, south africa the bushveld complex, of palaeoproterozoic age, is located in the central northeast portion of the kaapvaal craton in southern africa, and has an estimated total area of 65 000 km2 hunter, 1976. Important notice this report includes results for mineral resources. The bushveld episode was evidently initiated by the outpouring of andesitic lava on three occasions, and of agglomerate and tuff on one occasion, during the deposition of the transvaal system. The bushveld complex is the largest maficultramafic layered intrusion on earth and encompasses about a million cubic kilometres of igneous rocks that were emplaced into the upper crust 205 billion years ago as part of a major intracontinental magmatic event. In contrast, the platreef, which is located in the northern limb. Bushveld is an example of a large igneous province, a massive assemblage of rocks formed by volcanic activity.
Regional geology map of the bushveld complex compiled from various. The bushveld complex is a 65,000 km2 layered intrusive. It consists of a large variety of extrusive, intrusive, and metamorphic rocks, the basic stratified portion of which constitutes the largest layered intrusion of its kind in the world. This is the preface to a special issue on various aspects of the bushveld complex, transvaal basin, south africa. At 2 billion years old, south africas bushveld igneous complex bic, which holds the largest concentration of platinum group metals pgm in the world, continues to reveal the mysteries of its formation to geologists. The bushveld complex the bushveld complex is the worlds largest layered intrusion, and because of its unique char acter most other layered intrusions are compared with it. Box 106, crown mines, 2025, south africa chromite and pgeenriched layers in the bushveld are modelled on a process of the cooling of resident lower zone magma by sub. A geological map of the area, which provides the largest known example of this interesting type of formation, is shown on the facing page. Media in category bushveld igneous complex the following files are in this category, out of total. For a more detailed overview see eriksson et al 2001 and eglinton and armstrong 2002.
South africa is the worlds top producer of platinum, used in everything from jewelry to catalytic converters. Rhodes, 1975 or internal origin by mantle diapirism sharpe et al. The palaeoproterozoic bushveld igneous province in south africa is comprised of. The northern limb is known for the platreef, atypical mafic lithologies in sections of the. The mafic igneous rocks are of deepseated origin, and they occur in thick stratiform sheets, such as the bushveld complex in. Introduction to the bushveld complex, south africa. This report documents the mineral resource estimate effective date. Platinum is rare and highly concentrated in one location with. The complex is exposed across 30 miles 48 km of the north flank of the beartooth mountain range. Pdf the zonal nomenclature of the bushveld complex relegated to informal. In south africa, an enormous layered intrusion, containing over half the worlds platinum, chromium, vanadium, and refractory minerals. The bushveld complex, of palaeoproterozoic age, is located in the central. See figure 2 for the complete bushveld igneous complex map with legend.
North west, gauteng, for the western limb and limpopo and mpumalanga for the eastern limb. The report, entitled an independent technical report on the waterberg project located in the bushveld igneous complex, south africa is dated effective july 20, 2015 and was prepared by charles j muller b. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earths crust. It looks like we dont have any akas for this title yet. Upb geochronology documents outofsequence emplacement of ultramafic layers in the bushveld igneous complex of south africa james e. On the relationship between the bushveld complex and its. The complex contains the worlds largest reserves of the platinum group metals, platinum, palladium, osmium, indium, rhodium and rhenium, along with vast quantities of iron, tin, chromium, titanium and vanadium wikipedia. Geology and nonfuel mineral deposits of africa and the middle east, usgs open file report 20051294e, public domain, link. The feeder of a lopolith is assumed to be relatively small and probably is centrally located. Bushveld minerals is a lowcost, vertically integrated primary vanadium producer with a diversi. May 19, 2015 the mafic rocks of the bushveld complex, south africa, were emplaced into a stable cratonic shield some 2. The geology of the bushveld igneous complex, the largest.
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