Back Bosveldstollingskompleks Afrikaans Buşveld kompleksi Azerbaijani Complex igni de Bushveld Catalan Bushveld-Komplex German Σύμπλεγμα Μπούσβελντ Greek Complejo ígneo de Bushveld Spanish مجتمع آذرین بوشولد Persian Complexe igné du Bushveld French מתחם בושוולד HE Bušveldo intruzija Lithuanian

Bushveld Igneous Complex

Bushveld Igneous Complex geologic map and mine locations

The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is the largest layered igneous intrusion[1][2] within the Earth's crust.[3] It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin: the Transvaal Basin. It is approximately two billion years old[4] and is divided into four limbs: northern, eastern, southern and western. It comprises the Rustenburg Layered suite, the Lebowa Granites and the Rooiberg Felsics, that are overlain by the Karoo sediments.[5] The site was first publicised around 1897 by Gustaaf Molengraaff who found the native South African tribes residing in and around the area.[6]

Located in South Africa, the BIC contains some of the richest ore deposits on Earth.[7][8][9] It contains the world's largest reserves of platinum-group metals (PGMs) and platinum group elements (PGEs) — platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, rhodium and ruthenium — along with vast quantities of iron, tin, chromium, titanium and vanadium. These are used in, but not limited to, jewellery, automobiles and electronics. Gabbro or norite is also quarried from parts of the complex and rendered into dimension stone. There have been more than 20 mine operations.[10] There have been studies of potential uranium deposits.[11] The complex is well known for its chromitite reef deposits, particularly the Merensky reef and the UG-2 reef. It represents about 75 percent of the world's platinum and about 50 percent of the world's palladium resources. In this respect, the Bushveld complex is unique and one of the most economically significant mineral deposit complexes in the world.[12]

  1. ^ Pirajno, Franco (2012-12-06). Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits: Principles and Fundamental Concepts for the Exploration Geologist. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642756719.
  2. ^ Roberts, Benjamin W.; Thornton, Christopher P. (2014-01-07). Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective: Methods and Syntheses. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781461490173.
  3. ^ Eriksson, P. G.; Hattingh, P. J.; Altermann, W. (1995-04-01). "An overview of the geology of the Transvaal Sequence and Bushveld Complex, South Africa". Mineralium Deposita. 30 (2): 98–111. Bibcode:1995MinDe..30...98E. doi:10.1007/BF00189339. ISSN 0026-4598. S2CID 129388907.
  4. ^ Hustrulid, W. A.; Hustrulid, William A.; Bullock, Richard C. (2001). Underground Mining Methods: Engineering Fundamentals and International Case Studies. SME. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-87335-193-5.
  5. ^ Chamber of Mines. "Platinum". Chamber of Mines South Africa. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  6. ^ G.A.F. Molengraaff Geology of the Transvaal (1904), Edinburgh & Johannesburg (translation from ~1902 original), pp 42–57.
  7. ^ Klemm, D. D.; Snethlage, R.; Dehm, R. M.; Henckel, J.; Schmidt-Thomé, R. (1982). "The Formation of Chromite and Titanomagnetite Deposits within the Bushveld Igneous Complex". Ore Genesis. Special Publication of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 351–370. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-68344-2_35. ISBN 9783642683466.
  8. ^ Almécija, Clara; Cobelo-García, Antonio; Wepener, Victor; Prego, Ricardo (2017-05-01). "Platinum group elements in stream sediments of mining zones: The Hex River (Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa)". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 129: 934–943. Bibcode:2017JAfES.129..934A. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.02.002. hdl:10261/192883. ISSN 1464-343X.
  9. ^ Rauch, Sebastien; Fatoki, Olalekan S. (2015). "Impact of Platinum Group Element Emissions from Mining and Production Activities". Platinum Metals in the Environment. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 19–29. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-44559-4_2. ISBN 9783662445587. S2CID 73528299.
  10. ^ Oancea, Dan (September 2008). "Platinum in South Africa" (PDF). MINING.com.
  11. ^ Andreoli; et al. (June 1987). "THE URANIUM POTENTIAL OF THE BUSHVELD IGNEOUS COMPLEX: A CRITICAL REAPPRAISAL" (PDF). Progress Report No. 4 – via ATOMIC ENERGY CORPORATION OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED.
  12. ^ R. P. Schouwstra and E. D. Kinloch (2000). "A Short Geological Review of the Bushveld Complex" (PDF). Platinum Metals Review. 44 (1): 33–39. doi:10.1595/003214000X4413339.

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