Bushveld minerals is a lowcost, vertically integrated primary vanadium producer with a diversified vanadium product portfolio, currently supplying approximately 3,000 mtvp. In the geology, geochemistry, mineralogy and mineral beneficiation of platinumgroup elements. South africa is the worlds top producer of platinum, used in everything from jewelry to catalytic converters. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the bushveld 2nd ed a south african field guide, including the kruger lowveld. The bushveld complex underlies an area of about 50,000 square km 20,000 square miles. Hatton anglo american research laboratories pty ltd. Bushveld complex geological formation, south africa. The stratigraphy of the bushveld complex has been subdivided into a basal marginal zone, overlain sequentially by the lower zone, critical zone, main zone and upper zone. Thick reef to the east of the lonplats properties, and in the marula. 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 bushveld complex, south africa figure 1 is well known as one of the worlds largest igneous complexes and is of significant importance as. The layered mafic rocks of the bushveld complex are derived from three magmatic lineages a lower part comprising the lower and critical zones which crystallized from highmg andsi parent liquids, an isotopically distinct lower main zone derived from more evolved aluminous tholeiitic liquids, and a succession above the pyroxenite marker, which includes the entire upper zone, stemming from. Bushveld complex bc 300km east west synclinal basin containing vast quantities of pgms and chromite. Bushveld igneous complex article about bushveld igneous.
Please send us a message by completing the form below and well get back to you, asap. The precise meaning of the entries is difficult to read but it seems that in 1909 10,000 copies were printed and the entry for march 30 1911. At present, the greatest share of global pge supply is extracted from the south african bushveld complex and from the zimbabwean great dyke. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the content is accurate, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data shown. The palaeoproterozoic bushveld complex has been studied in detail in the last century, primarily because of. Bushveld definition of bushveld by the free dictionary. The bushveld perspective holds no responsibility for your investment decisions and information written should not be relied upon in completing specific transactions. The bushveld complex, as exposed at cur rent levels of erosion, consists eastern, western and northern limbs, see figure 1.
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. The bushveld igneous complex bic is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earths. Passing the town of chuniespoort and the mohlopitse fold belt, we enter the northeastern limb of the bushveld complex looking at lower and lower critical zone. The bushveld is one of the most mineralrich regions of the world. The complex is made up of ultramafic to felsic igneous rocks and formed by repeated injection of magma into an enormous chamber. Rustenberg layered suite of the bushveld complex, south africa. 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. Bushveld, afrikaans bosveld, natural region in southern africa, at an elevation of about 2,5004,000 feet 8001,200 metres.
A geological map of the area, which provides the largest known example of this interesting type of formation, is shown on the facing page. Bushveld complex deposits of platinum and chromites, situated in transvaal province of the republic of south africa, on the territory of the districts of. The content only conveys the personal opinions of our contributors. 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. The bushveld thornbush field is characterized by treesacacia and baobab as well as thornbushesand tall grasses. Pdf this is the preface to a special issue on various aspects of the bushveld complex, transvaal basin, south africa.
I have checked the ledgers and find that only one has figures relating to the schools edition of the title you mention. Pdf the platreef of the bushveld complex, south africa. Bushveld complex bc sedibelo platinum mines limited. Granophyric rocks of the bushveld complex occur widely between the rls beneath and the rooiberg. Hence, the total depth of significant mineralization below the chromitite was not assessed, but can be traced to a depth of 1. The geological setting, composition, mineralogy, and textures of the ores are described for the bushveld and stillwater complexes, the great dyke, the munni munni intrusion, complexes in finland, and some smaller intrusions. The layered rocks of the 206 ga walraven, 1988 bushveld complex form a lopolithic intrusion with an average thickness of about 79 km. The residual or roof zone of the bushveld complex, south africa. Bushveld igneous complex geologic map and mine locations. This formation contains most of the worlds reserves of minerals such as andalusite, chromium, fluorspar, platinum and vanadium.
Bushveld is a rather loose term and refers to the areas of mixed woodland between 1 000m and 1 500m above sea level almost all of south africas 472 000 square miles lie below the tropic of capricorn, and the country is geographically composed of 3 primary regions. However, a large part of the complex is actually covered by younger deposits, and the actual outcrop of mafic rocks has a complex. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Cabri, canadian institute of mining, metallurgy and petroleum, special volume 54, p. Bushveld definition is veld of southern africa with abundant shrubby and often thorny vegetation. This article focuses on the description of the aquifer systems associated with the bushveld complex s mafic and ultramafic rocks and attempts to characterise the shallow. Construction expos in south africa recommended for you. It contains many magmatic ores, pegmatitic and hydrothermal ore deposits and has metamorphosed the floor rocks of the intrusive. It is approximately 2 billion years old and is divided into four different limbs.
Bushveld igneous complex archives state of the planet. The bushveld 2nd ed a south african field guide, including the kruger lowveld kindle edition by gutteridge, lee. Reference rustenberg layered suite of the bushveld complex. The bushveld complex is a 65,000 km2 layered intrusive. The platreef of the bushveld complex, south africa.
A new hypothesis of multiple, nonsequential magma replenishment based on observations at the akanani project, northwest of mokopane. It lies almost entirely within the bounds of the transvaal sedimentary basin with both the intrusion and the sedimentary rocks possibly forming. The bushveld complex is the largest known layered intrusion on earth, with an outcrop area of over 29450 km. The excursion will pass through transvaal sequence floor rocks into the bushveld complex granites around vergenoeg fluorite mine. Zamani addmore dube 0303958g thesis submitted to the faculty of science, university of the witwatersrand johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of science. High underground temperatures reduce labour productivity, the highest cost element of mining. Minerals free fulltext the merensky cyclic unit, bushveld. Jock of the bushveld by percy fitzpatrick free ebook. In contrast, the bushveld complex had a felsic volcanic. The bushveld complex in the context of thethe bushveld. 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. Centred in limpopo province, south africa, it extends into northern kwazulunatal province, swaziland, mozambique, zimbabwe, and botswana.
Through bushveld energy, the companys energy storage. The mines are extracting the pge minerals, which comprise platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, together with base metals copper and nickel. Geological setting university of the witwatersrand. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The bushveld complex in south africa is the worlds largest magmatic intrusion.
The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among magmas derived from a mantle plume c. Geological interpretations from the pge distribution 59 the grade was still 7 gt combined pt and pd. This is due to the bushveld igneous complex, an extremely rich saucershaped geological formation that stretches over more than 50,000 square kilometers. Bushveld definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Platinum group elements pges are an important resource for many applications, such as automotive catalytic converters for vehicles, jewelry, electrical devices and as catalysts in the chemical and petroleum industries. The bushveld complex crops out in the northern part of south africa, in the provinces of northwest, limpopo and mpumalanga.
Lower zonecritical zone transition of the bushveld. Other complexes and intrusions that are considered to be satellite intrusions to the bushveld complex are the roodekraal complex, lindques drift intrusion, rietfontein. It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin. The bushveld complex, a product of interaction among. In this lecture shield volcanoes stratovolcanoes other types of volcanic centres flood basalt provinces the bushveld complex an introduction 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. Higher underground thermal gradient than the goldbearing witwatersrand basin, requiring refrigeration for underground mines deeper than 700 metres. Bushveld article about bushveld by the free dictionary. Geological interpretations from the pge distribution in. The major deposits are of platinum group elements, chrome, nickel, vanadium and uranium.