The bushveld igneous complex johnson matthey technology. Anthropogenic platinum enrichment in the vicinity of mines in the bushveld igneous complex, south africa. Research article atmospheric trace metals in the western bushveld igneous complex page 1 of 11 assessment of atmospheric trace metals in the western bushveld igneous complex, south africa trace metal species emitted into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources can cause various healthrelated and environmental problems. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the worlds largest layered igneous intrusion. The rustenburg layered suite of the bushveld complex is a series of layered igneous rocks exposed in five arcuate lobes spanning 450 km from. Comparative igneous stratigraphic columns adapted from ivanic et al. Bushveld igneous complex bushveld igneous complex, gauteng. The terrain comprises mainly level plains with some relief, and plains with open low hills and ridges figure 3. 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. It is about seven to nine kilometers thick and divided into eastern, western and northern limbs. 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 complex underlies an area of about 50,000 square km 20,000 square miles.
Its perceived immensity has attracted speculations of extraterrestrial origin by meteorite impact hamilton, 1970. The nuanetsi igneous province is situated in the southeastern corner of southern rhodesia and marks the intersection of the limpopo lineament with the volcanic monocline of the lebombo. Generally these sequences do not exhibit rock outcrops at surface. The presence of dykes, ironrich ultramafic pegmatites irups, faults and potholes can cause adverse mining conditions through. An air quality assessment in the industrialised western.
The centenary of the discovery of platinum in the bushveld complex the russian analogy bettel commented on analogies between the south african and the russian occurrences of platinum, which were the major source of platinum at that time. Platinum group elements in stream sediments of mining. Bushveld igneous complex wikipedia audio article youtube. Structural relations of the bushveld igneous complex. Igneous and tectonic structures of the stillwater complex montana. Its upper critical zone hosts the worlds largest deposit of platinum group elements pge.
The northern lobe transgresses onto archaean granitegneisses. It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin. 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 complex consists of multiple suites of rocks, each of which in turn holds multiple layers. Important notice this report includes results for mineral resources. The archean windimurra igneous complex consists of distinct components, including a thick layered series, with a cumulate mineral stratigraphy similar to the zones identified in the wellstudied. The wbjv property is located on the south western limb of the bushveld igneous complex bic, 110km westnorthwest of pretoria and 120km from johannesburg.
These layered intrusions consist of rocks which cooled slowly from molten magma, deep within the earth. Bushveld complex bc sedibelo platinum mines limited. Not the least of the finds is the amazing body of igneous rocks called the bushveld complex, in the transvaal. Geospatial mapping of the northern bushveld rustenburg. 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. South africa is the worlds top producer of platinum, used in everything from jewelry to catalytic converters. Higher underground thermal gradient than the goldbearing witwatersrand basin, requiring refrigeration for underground mines deeper than 700 metres. Microscopic analyses of bushveld complex rocks under.
Construction expos in south africa recommended for you. The bushveld complex is a 65,000 km2 layered intrusive. Vanadium resources in titaniferous magnetite deposits. Bushveld igneous complex wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The uitkomst complex has been suggested to be genetically related to the 2060 ma, bushveld igneous complex bic. Pdf a felsic end to bushveld differentiation semantic. Samples collected from inliers of basement rock within the complex the assen and marble hall fragments and from the rooiberg series exhibit no megascopic or microscopic shock effects. Through bushveld energy, the companys energy storage. 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. The bushveld complex is a large magmatic province of uncertain origin. Allard, 1970, or in complex intrusive bodies, such as taberg, sweden hjelmqvist, 1950. A lopolith is a large igneous intrusion which is lenticular in shape with a depressed central region. In order to investigate the characteristics and processes affecting submicron particle number concentrations. Novel hypothesis for origin of massive chromitites in the.
As you may find in the following paper paul ramdohr left something for further research. Waterberg mine, located in bushveld igneous complex, south. It is approximately 2 billion years old and is divided into four different limbs. An intrusive origin of some ug1 chromitite layers in the. The geology and structure of the rustenburg layered suite in. Mineral chemistry of a cenozoic igneous complex, the urumieh. The complex was intruded into existing gneisses during the archean at about 2700 ma. The bushveld complex is located in south africa, between the limpopo and north west provinces and covers an area of approximately 66000 km2 it consists of four groups of rocks. 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.
The latter is part of a zone of intense karroo and postkarroo volcanicity which lies along the boundary between the uplifted central portion of southern. The bushveld complex is a vast layered igneous complex that intruded the volcanosedimentary pretoria group of the late archaean to early proterozoic transvaal supergroup. The company owes its origin to the unique formation known as the palabora igneous complex. French, planetary materials program, code el4, nasa headquarters, washington, dc 20546. The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among magmas. 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 mafic igneous rocks are of deepseated origin, and they occur in thick stratiform sheets, such as the bushveld complex in south africa willemse, 1969. It is approximately 2 billion years old and is divided into fo. The geomorphological history of the bushveld basin gave rise to four discrete physiographic regions found in the study area. Refrigeration and ventilation systems for ultradeep.
Characteristics of crspinel and whole rock geochemistry of the nuasahi igneous complex, orissa, india sisir k. The lebowa granite suite, commonly known as the bushveld granites, is host to a continuum of polymetallic mineralization with a wide range of metal assemblages snmo. Assessment of atmospheric trace metals in the authors. Ripley1 1department of geological sciences, indiana university, bloomington, indiana 47405.
It lies almost entirely within the bounds of the transvaal. Platinum group elements in stream sediments of mining zones. Map and cross section in the bushveld complex winter 2002. Anthropogenic platinum enrichment in the vicinity of mines in. Knowledgedriven prospectivity mapping for graniterelated. A geological map of the area, which provides the largest known example of this interesting type of formation, is shown on the facing page. The bushveld complex crops out in the northern part of south africa, in the provinces of northwest, limpopo and. Bushveld complex bc 300km east west synclinal basin containing vast quantities of pgms and chromite. The waterberg mine is located in the bushveld igneous complex, approximately 85km north of mokopane town in limpopo province, south africa. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earths. Geological setting university of the witwatersrand.
During 19811982 an extensive search was made for shockmetamorphic features in the bushveld tgneous complex bic of south africa in order to. The complex is made up of ultramafic to felsic igneous rocks and formed by repeated injection of magma into an enormous chamber. The bushveld complex is the largest known layered intrusion on earth, with an outcrop area of over 29450 km. Bushveld is an example of a large igneous province, a massive assemblage of rocks formed by volcanic activity.
The ree mineralization is found in layered alkaline complexes, granitic. Producing about 60,000 tonnes of refined copper per year, the company supplies most of south africas copper needs and exports the balance. Lower zonecritical zone transition of the bushveld complex. The huge bushveld igneous complex, composed of norite, pyroxenite, anorthosite etc. Abstract the niyasar plutonic complex, one of the cenozoic magmatic assemblages in the urumieh. Host rocks on the northern side are archean sedimentary rocks while the southern boundary includes precambrian rocks of granite, granite gneiss and schist. Rare earth element deposits of alkaline igneous rocks mdpi. The geology of the nuanetsi igneous province on jstor. An explanation has been deduced for bifurcations of chromitite layers and other features frequently found in exposures of the ug1 and its footwall.
The development of mantle partial melts and their intrusion into the crust, followed by particular mechanisms related to the cooling and fractional crystallization of a nicu sulphide liquid resulting in a residual sulphide liquid highly enriched in cu, pt, and pd forming pge rich layers naldrett et al. Molengraaff, henderson, kynaston, mellor, humphrey, hall, wagner, and du toit have published the results of study. However, a large part of the complex is actually covered by. The south african platinum mines in the bushveld complex bc have unique features that. During the famous international bushveld excursion in 1929 some geologists put up a sign. Bushveld igneous complex of the transvaal gsa bulletin. The loskop formation lavas appear in the southern area, together with igneous rocks of the bushveld igneous complex.
Bushveld igneous complex archives state of the planet. The bushveld complex crops out in the northern part of south africa, in the provinces of northwest, limpopo and mpumalanga. High underground temperatures reduce labour productivity, the highest cost element of mining. The merensky reef has been traced for 300 km around the. Upb geochronology documents outofsequence emplacement. Chromitites in the bushveld igneous complex, journal of petrology. Quartzites of the silverton formation are very hard and resistant to weathering, and a number of outcrops were noted. It looks like we dont have any plot summaries for this title yet. Formation of bifurcating chromitite layers of the ug1 in. The preserved outcrop is estimated to cover an area of more than 65,000 km 2 cawthorn et al. Novel hypothesis for origin of massive chromitites in the bushveld.
In the south african bushveld the thick waterberg system of sediments lies unconformably on the transvaal system. The northern limb is known for the platreef, atypical mafic lithologies in sections of the. Bushveld complex article about bushveld complex by the free. The palaeoproterozoic bushveld igneous province in south africa is. In particular, dwars river in the eastern bushveld is well known for the intimate association of chromitite and anorthosite layers.
Bushveld complex deposits of platinum and chromites, situated in transvaal province of the republic of south africa, on the territory of the districts of. Introduction the rustenburg layered suite rls form laterally continues layers that can be correlated across the various limbs of the bushveld igneous complex. 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. The bic, which covers an area of 66 000 km2, holds more than 70% of the worlds viable chrome resources, as well as large deposits of vanadium, cobalt, nickel, tin and copper. However, knowledge of air quality and research related to the atmosphere is still very limited in the area. This article describes the geological and economic aspects of this unusually interesting formation. Characterisation of submicron particle number concentrations. It contains many magmatic ores, pegmatitic and hydrothermal ore deposits and has metamorphosed the floor rocks of the intrusive. The centenary of the discovery of platinum in the bushveld.
It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a. Bushveld complex geological formation, south africa. This analogy was to cause sa geologists to make assumptions that were later shown to be mistaken. A field and laboratory search for shockmetamorphic features associated with the bushveld igneous complex, south africa, was made to test the hypothesis that the structure formed by meteorite impact. Chromitite layers occur frequently within the critical zone of the bushveld complex. Lopoliths are generally concordant with the intruded strata with dike or funnelshaped feeder bodies below the body. 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, south africa aster image gallery.
The role of compaction in the chemical fractionation of igneous bodies, from thick lava flows and lava lakes to large intrusions and midocean ridge magma chambers, has been the subject of many recent studies e. The geology of the bushveld igneous complex, the largest. 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. Keywords northern bushveld complex, rustenburg layered suite rls, regional trends, residual structures, igneous layering, trend surface analysis 1. The timezone in bushveld igneous complex is africajohannesburg morning sunrise at 06.
Alkaline igneous complexes host deposits of rare earth elements ree. Uplifted ridges have formed from erosion resistant transvaal quartzites and mafic bushveld complex rocks fox, 2000. Predicting the subsurface geometry and extent of deformation within an ultramafic magma chamber is a challenging task. Is there some commonality between the geological structures in the bushveld complex and the great dyke. The 2060 ma old bushveld complex of about 66000 km2 extent is a saucershaped layered igneous intrusion and one of the great geological wonders of the world. Rhodes, 1975 or internal origin by mantle diapirism sharpe et al.
Is there some commonality between the geological structures. Bushveld igneous complex article about bushveld igneous. 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. According to new geophysical data the complex now occupies an area of more than 90,000 km 2 finn et al. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earths crust. Whilst chilled water is the default choice for cooling in a hydropowered mine, there are other alternatives available for nonhydropowered mines, including. The formation of chromite and titanomagnetite deposits.
The origin of chromitites in the bushveld complex has been attributed to. The bushveld igneous complex 1983 plot summary imdb. The bushveld complex in the context of thethe bushveld. The chromium deposits of the bushveld complex, the potential resources of which are estimated at 2 billion tons, are found in pseudostrata, persistent for considerable distances, of ingrained and massif ores, 2 cm to 2 m thick in the pyroxenites and anorthosites. They are characterized by a raised ferriferousness of the chrome spinels. The area is also highly populated by informal, semiformal and formal residential developments. 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. The complex consists essentially of five adjoining, basinshaped masses of igneous rocks. 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. 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. This paper presents mineral prospectivity mapping to identify potential new exploration ground for polymetallic snfree mineralization associated with the bushveld granites of the bushveld igneous complex, south africa. The stillwater complex, which comprises a series of noritic and ultramafic igneous rocks and associated mineral deposits, crops out in a belt 30 miles long on the. Bushveld igneous complex bic, which stretches across the north west, gauteng, mpumalanga and limpopo provinces figure 1. Space images bushveld igneous complex, south africa.
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