PGE mineralization in the western sector of the eastern Bushveld Complex

Summary Unusual facies of the Merensky Reef, the UG-2 and the UG-1 chromitite layers are developed in the western sector of the eastern Bushveld Complex. Within the basal pyroxenite of the Merensky unit, mineralization can be developed at up to four levels. Some of these contain significant mineralization with an increase in the Pt/Pd ratio upward in the succession.The UG-2 chromitite layer consists of a lower, sulphide-rich layer and an upper, sulphide-poor layer. Although these two layers are separated by a pyroxenite parting in places, both contain high platinum-group element (PGE) values. Textural features such as inclusions of base metal sulphides in chromite grains, and the moulding of sintered chromite grains around sulphides, indicates that immiscible sulphide liquid separated prior to or simultaneously with chromite crystallization. The presence of platinum minerals within the sulphides of the inclusions and enclosed in all the base metal sulphides interstitial to chromite, indicates that the PGE were extracted from the magma by the sulphide liquid.Textural and compositional evidence suggests that the sulphide enrichment in the UG-1 chromitite layer is also of magmatic origin, but that these sulphides underwent remobilization at high temperatures.Magma mixing processes are considered to have produced the chromitite layers. The high sulphide content associated with the chromitite layers in the upper critical zone in this sector is ascribed to favourable compositions and proportions of the magmas involved in the mixing process.

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PGE-Vererzung im westlichen Sektor des östlichen Bushveld-Komplexes

Zusammenfassung Ungewöhnliche Fazies des Merensky-Reefes sowie der UG-2 und der UG-1 Chromitite kommen im westlichen Sektor des östlichen Bushveld Komplexes vor. In den basalen Pyroxeniten der Merensky-Einheit liegt Vererzung in bis zu vier verschiedenen Niveaus vor. Einige von diesen enthalten signifikante Metallgehalte, wobei das Pt/Pd Verhältnis gegen das Hangende hin zunimmt.Der UG-2 Chromitit besteht aus einer unteren, Sulfid-reichen, und einer oberen, Sulfid-armen Lage. Obwohl diese beiden Lagen stellenweise durch eine pyroxenitische Zwischenschicht getrennt sind, enthalten beide hohe Platin-Gruppen-Elementgehalte (PGE). Texturen wie z.B. Einschlüsse von Buntmetallsulfiden in Chromitkörnern, und die Anordnung von gesinterten Chromitkörnern um Sulfide herum weisen darauf hin, daß eine unmischbare Sulfidschmelze vor oder gleichzeitig mit der Chromitkristallisation abgetrennt wurde. Das Vorkommen von Platin-Mineralen in den Sulfiden der Einschlüsse, und in allen Buntmetallsulfiden die zwischen Chromitkörnern vorkommen, zeigen, daß die PGE durch eine Sulfidschmelze aus dem Magma entfernt worden sind.Texturelle und chemische Parameter zeigen, daß die Sulfidanreicherung in den UG-1 Chromititen auch einen magmatischen Ursprung hat, jedoch waren diese Sulfide später von einer Hochtemperatur-Mobilisation betroffen.Die Chromitit-Lagen werden durch Magmen-Mischung, der hohe Sulfid-Gehalt in den Chromitit-Lagen der oberen Kritischen Zone in diesem Sektor durch günstige Zusammensetzungen und Verhältnisse der Magmen, die an diesem Mischungsprozess teilgenommen haben erklärt.

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With 7 Figures     

Connectivity between the western and eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex

The mafic layered rocks of the Bushveld Complex are 6–8 km thick and crop out over an area of 65,000 km². Previous interpretations of the Bouguer gravity anomalies suggested that the intrusion consisted of two totally separate bodies. However, the mafic sequences in these arcuate western and eastern limbs are remarkably similar, with at least six petrologically distinctive layers and sequences being recognisable in both limbs. Such similarity of sequences in two totally discrete bodies 200–300 km apart is petrologically implausible, and it is suggested that they formed within a single lopolithic intrusion.

All previous Bouguer gravity models failed to consider the isostatic response of the crust to emplacement of this huge mass of mafic magma. Isostatic adjustment as a result of this intrusion would have caused the base of the crust to be depressed by as much as 6 km. With this revised whole crustal model, it becomes possible to construct a gravity model, consistent with observed data, which includes a 6 km-thick sequence of mafic rocks connecting the western and eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex. The exact depth at which the mafic rocks of the Bushveld Complex lie in the centre of the structure cannot be constrained by the gravity data.

Such a first-order model is an approximation, because there have been subsequent deformation and structural readjustments in the crust, some of them probably related to the emplacement of the Bushveld Complex. Specifically, the observed geometry of the rocks around the Crocodile River, Dennilton, Marble Hall and Malope Domes suggests that major upwarping of the crust occurred on a variety of scales, triggered by emplacement of the Bushveld Complex.     

Petrogenesis of the Eastern Bushveld Complex: Crystallization of the Middle Critical Zone

The bronzite—chromite-anorthite assemblage of the F—unit(Cameron & Emerson, 1959) from the Critical Zone of theBushveld Igneous Complex, was examined with the aid of an electrolyticcell designed after Sato (1971). The resultant fO₂-T data reveala last equilibration at an fO₂ value of 10^{11·82 ±·40} atm and at a temperature of 1091 ± 35 °C.These fO₂-T data when compared with: (1) a one atmosphere quenching—technique solidus determinationof 1110 ± 5 °C, (2) the Bushveld plagioclase compositional trends (Cameron,1970), (3) Bushveld petrofabric examinations (Cameron, 1969) (4) phase equilibria in the system CaO–MgO–FeO–CaAl₂Si₂O₈–SiO₂(Roeder & Osborn, 1966), (5) phase equilibria in the system CaAl₂Si₂O₈–NaAlSi₃O₈–SiO₂–MgO–Fe–O₂–H₂O–CO₂(Eggler, 1974), all support the idea that the Eastern Bushveld magma was notappreciably differentiating in the middle Critical Zone betweenF and the L Horizons, an accumulation of nearly 220 meters.     

The origin of chromitites and related PGE mineralization in the Bushveld Complex: new mineralogical and petrological constraints

This article reports a study of chromitites from the LG-1 to the UG-2/3 from the Bushveld Complex. Chromite from massive chromitite follows two compositional trends on the basis of cation ratios: trend A—decreasing Mg/(Mg + Fe) with increasing Cr/(Cr + Al); trend B—decreasing Mg/(Mg + Fe) with decreasing Cr/(Cr + Al). The chromitites are divided into five stages on the basis of which trend they follow and the data of Eales et al. (Chemical Geology 88:261–278, 1990) on the behaviour of the Mg/Fe ratio of the pyroxene and whole rock Sr isotope composition of the environment in which they occur. Following Eales et al. (Chemical Geology 88:261–278, 1990), the different characteristics of the stages are attributed to the rate at which new magma entered the chamber and the effect of this on aAl₂O₃ and, in the case of stage 5, the appearance of cumulus plagioclase buffering the aAl₂O₃. The similarity of PGE profiles across the MG-3 and MG-4 chromitites that are separated laterally by up to 300 km and the variation in V in the UG-2 argue that the chromitites have largely developed in situ. Modelling using the programme MELTS shows that increase in pressure, mixing of primitive and fractionated magma, felsic contamination of primitive magma or addition of H₂O do not promote crystallization of spinel before orthopyroxene (in general they hinder it) and that the Cr₂O₃ content of the magma was of the order of 0.25 wt.%. Less than 20% of the chromite in the magma is removed before orthopyroxene joins chromite, which implies a >13-km thickness of magma for the Critical Zone. It is suggested that the large excess of magma has escaped up marginal structures such as the Platreef. The PGE profile of chromitites depends on whether sulphide accumulated or not along with chromite. Modelling shows that contamination of Critical Zone magma with a felsic melt will induce sulphide immiscibility, although not chromite precipitation. The LG-1 to LG-4 chromitites developed without sulphide, whilst those from the LG-5 upwards had associated liquid sulphide. Much of the sulphide originally in the LG-5 and above has been destroyed as a result of reaction with the chromite.     

Geochemistry and mineralogy of the Platreef and “Critical Zone” of the northern lobe of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa: implications for Bushveld stratigraphy and the development of PGE mineralisation

The northern lobe of the Bushveld Complex is currently a highly active area for platinum-group element (PGE) exploration. This lobe hosts the Platreef, a 10–300-m thick package of PGE-rich pyroxenites and gabbros, that crops out along the base of the lobe to the north of Mokopane (formerly Potgietersrus) and is amenable to large-scale open pit mining along some portions of its strike. An early account of the geology of the deposit was produced by Percy Wagner where he suggested that the Platreef was an equivalent PGE-rich layer to the Merensky Reef that had already been traced throughout the eastern and western lobes of the Bushveld Complex. Wagner’s opinion remains widely held and is central to current orthodoxy on the stratigraphy of the northern lobe. This correlates the Platreef and an associated cumulate sequence that includes a chromitite layer—known as the Grasvally norite-pyroxenite-anorthosite (GNPA) member—directly with the sequence between the UG2 chromitite and the Merensky Reef as it is developed in the Upper Critical Zone of the eastern and western Bushveld. Implicit in this view of the magmatic stratigraphy is that similar Critical Zone magma was present in all three lobes prior to the development of the Merensky Reef and the Platreef. However, when this assumed correlation is examined in detail, it is obvious that there are significant differences in lithologies, mineral textures and chemistries (Mg# of orthopyroxene and olivine) and the geochemistry of both rare earth elements (REE) and PGE between the two sequences. This suggests that the prevailing interpretation of the stratigraphy of the northern lobe is not correct. The “Critical Zone” of the northern lobe cannot be correlated with the Critical Zone in the rest of the complex and the simplest explanation is that the GNPA-Platreef sequence formed from a separate magma, or mixture of magmas. Chilled margins of the GNPA member match the estimated initial composition of tholeiitic (Main Zone-type) magma rather than a Critical Zone magma composition. Where the GNPA member is developed over the ultramafic Lower Zone, hybrid rocks preserve evidence for mixing between new tholeiitic magma and existing ultramafic liquid. This style of interaction and the resulting rock sequences are unique to the northern lobe. The GNPA member contains at least seven sulphide-rich horizons with elevated PGE concentrations. Some of these are hosted by pyroxenites with similar mineralogy, crystallisation sequences and Pd-rich PGE signatures to the Platreef. Chill zones are preserved in the lowest Main Zone rocks above the GNPA member and the Platreef and this suggests that both units were terminated by a new influx of Main Zone magma. This opens the possibility that the Platreef and GNPA member merge laterally into one another and that both formed in a series of mixing/quenching events involving tholeiitic and ultramafic magmas, prior to the main influx of tholeiitic magma that formed the Main Zone.     

布什维尔德铂族元素矿床:铂族矿物赋存状态及其成因

总结南非布什维尔德杂岩体中Merensky Reef(简称MR矿层)和Platreef(简称PR接触带)两类铂族元素矿床的矿床地质、矿化特征以及铂族元素的赋存状态。MR矿床是典型的层状铂族元素(PGE)矿床,在杂岩体东部和西部发育,PGE总含量稳定,赋存在堆晶间隙硫化物中,常以PGE硫化物的形式产出。PR接触带型矿化集中在杂岩体北段,整体上不连续,各个矿床的具体特征由于底盘岩性的多变而不同,PGE主要赋存在碲化物和砷化物等半金属化合物中,可以脱离硫化物产在硅酸盐矿物中。相关的实验研究显示,PGE在岩浆结晶过程中发生分异,Pd/Ir比值体现了硫化物的分异程度;Pd比Pt更容易被氧化以及在热液中迁移,Pt/Pd比值体现了混染和热液的作用,这些因素造成了PR接触带与MR矿层中PGE赋存状态的差异。岩浆可能在侵入之前已经达到了硫饱和,岩浆房的压力变化和岩浆通道对于PGE的富集有重要意义,热液流体可以对已经形成的PGE矿化进行改造。     

Coexisting Ca-poor pyroxenes in the Main Zone of the Bushveld Complex

Electron microprobe analyses of Ca-poor pyroxenes in gabbroic rocks of the Main Zone of the Bushveld Complex reveal that inverted pigeonites have lower Mg/Fe ratios than coexisting hypersthenes. Textural relationships, however, indicate that the two Ca-poor pyroxenes did not crystallize simultaneously from the magma. Early pigeonite reacted with the magma to form hypersthene and the difference in the Mg/Fe ratio of these two pyroxenes reflects the difference of this ratio between early pigeonite and the magma at the time of reaction. Some of the grains of early pigeonite, now inverted to hypersthene, evidently escaped this reaction with the magma. Bulk compositions of pyroxenes intermediate between that of pigeonite and hypersthene are postulated on the grounds of varying amounts of exsolved augite in the hypersthene which has originated from pigeonite by reaction with magma.     

The use of plagioclase composition as an indicator of magmatic processes in the Upper Zone of the Bushveld Complex

Summary Analytical data on the composition of plagioclase from the lower part of the Upper Zone in the eastern Bushveld Complex is presented. Detailed electron microprobe investigations failed to establish any cyclic variation through that sequence but revealed similar variations in An content, potassium and iron concentrations below and above magnetite layers. These findings can be attributed to the heterogeneous nature of the plagioclase both within individual grains and within a given sample, which would mask any possible trends of cryptic variation. The Sr concentration and Sr/Al₂O₃ ratio of plagioclase, determined by XRF on plagioclase separates, however change slightly at the level of the Main Magnetite Layer, which can possibly be related to the breakdown of density stratified liquid layers within the resident magma. Analyses of plagioclase separates are thus considered to be more suitable to indicate magmatic processes than plagioclase compositions determined by electron microprobe.

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Plagioklaszusammensetzung als Indikator für magmatische Prozesse in der Upper Zone des Bushveld Komplexes

Zusammenfassung Analytische Daten von Plagioklasen aus dem unteren Teil der Upper Zone im östlichen Bushveld Komplex werden präsentiert. Detaillierte Untersuchungen mittels Elektronen-strahl-Mikrosonde ergaben keine Hinweise auf eine zyklische Variation in dieser Abfolge, zeigten aber eine dänliche Variation des An-Gehaltes, Bowie der Kalium- und Eisengehalte im Liegenden und Hangenden von Magnetitlagen. Dies läßt sich mit der heterogenen Natur der Plagioklase, sowohl in Einzelkörnern, als auch innerhalb einer Probe erklären, die jeden möglichen verborgenen Variationstrend verdecken würden. Der mittels XRF Analytik an separierten Plagioklasen bestimmte Gehalt an Sr und das Sr/Al₂O₃ Verhältnis dndern sich allerdings geringfügig im Bereich des Main Magnetite Layer. Dies wird möglicherweise mit derv Zusammenbruch von dichtegeschichteten Schmelzlagen im Magma in Beziehung gebracht. Die Analyse von Plagioklaskonzentraten scheint daher geeigneter zu sein magmatische Prozesse anzuzeigen als Mikrosondenuntersuchungen.

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With 6 Figures     

Crustal contamination and PGE mineralization in the Platreef,Bushveld Complex,South Africa: evidence for multiple contamination events and transport of magmatic sulfides

Diamond drill core traverses across the Platreef were carried out at Tweefontein, Sandsloot, and Overysel in order to establish the relationship between crustal contamination and platinum group element (PGE) mineralization. The footwall rocks are significantly different at each of these sites and consist of banded iron formation and sulfidic shales at Tweefontein, of carbonates at Sandsloot, and of granites and granite gneisses at Overysel. As demonstrated in this study, Platreef rocks are characterized by two stages of crustal contamination. The first contamination event occurred prior to emplacement of the magma and is present in Platreef rocks at all three sites, as well as in the Merensky Reef. This event is readily identified on trace element spidergrams and trace element ratio scattergrams. The second contamination event was induced by interaction of the Platreef magma with the local footwall rocks. It is most easily identified at Tweefontein, where there is a large increase in the FeO content of the Platreef rocks, and at Sandsloot, where there is a large increase in their CaO and MgO contents, relative to Bushveld rocks that are uncontaminated by the local footwall rocks. At Overysel, the second contamination event did not result in pronounced changes in the major element composition of the Platreef rocks, but can be detected in their trace element chemistry. A strong inverse relationship between PGE tenors and S/Se ratios is interpreted to suggest that the PGE-rich sulfides were formed prior to emplacement of the Platreef magmas through assimilation of crustal S and became progressively enriched in the PGE during transport. Rather than promoting S-saturation, interaction of the Platreef magma with the footwall rocks diluted the metal tenors of the sulfides. Although both the Platreef and the Merensky Reef magmas were contaminated by the same crustal contaminant and were probably PGE-rich, they have radically different Pd/Pt ratios. Their Pd/Pt ratios suggest that whereas the Merensky Reef magma became PGE-rich due to dissolution of PGE-rich sulfides segregated from a pre-Merensky magma that had undergone relatively little fractionation prior to reaching S-saturation, the pre-Platreef magma had undergone greater fractionation prior to the sulfide saturation event, thereby increasing its Pd/Pt ratio. We suggest that the magmas that formed the Platreef and Merensky Reef may have simply been carrier magmas for sulfides that had formed elsewhere in the plumbing system of the Bushveld Complex by the interaction of earlier generations of magmas with the crustal rocks that underlie the Complex.     

Strontium isotope disequilibrium of plagioclase in the Upper Critical Zone of the Bushveld Complex: evidence for mixing of crystal slurries

We report in situ Sr isotope data for plagioclase of the Bushveld Complex. We found disequilibrium Sr isotopic compositions on several scales, (1) between cores and rims of plagioclase grains in the Merensky pyroxenite, the Bastard anorthosite, and the UG1 unit and its noritic footwall, (2) between cores of different plagioclase grains within thin sections of anorthosite and pyroxenite of the Merensky unit, the footwall anorthosite of the Merensky reef and the footwall norite of the UG1 chromitite. The data are consistent with a model of co-accumulation of cumulus plagioclase grains that had crystallized from different magmas, followed by late-stage overgrowth of the cumulus grains in a residual liquid derived from a different level of the compacting cumulate pile. We propose that the rocks formed through slumping of semi-consolidated crystal slurries at the top of the Critical Zone during subsidence of the center of the intrusion. Slumping led to sorting of crystals based on density differences, resulting in a layered interval of pyroxenites, norites and anorthosites.     

Petrogenesis of contact-style PGE mineralization in the northern lobe of the Bushveld Complex: comparison of data from the farms Rooipoort,Townlands, Drenthe and Nonnenwerth

In the present study, we document the nature of contact-style platinum-group element (PGE) mineralization along >100 km of strike in the northern lobe of the Bushveld Complex. New data from the farm Rooipoort are compared to existing data from the farms Townlands, Drenthe, and Nonnenwerth. The data indicate that the nature of the contact-style mineralization shows considerable variation along strike. In the southernmost portion of the northern Bushveld, on Rooipoort and adjoining farms, the mineralized sequence reaches a thickness of 700 m. Varied-textured gabbronorites are the most common rock type. Anorthosites and pyroxenites are less common. Chromitite stringers and xenoliths of calcsilicate and shale are largely confined to the lower part of the sequence. Layering is locally prominent and shows considerable lateral continuity. Disseminated sulfides may reach ca. 3 modal % and tend to be concentrated in chromitites and melanorites. Geochemistry indicates that the rocks can be correlated with the Upper Critical Zone. This model is supported by the fact that, in a down-dip direction, the mineralized rocks transform into the UG2-Merensky Reef interval. Between Townlands and Drenthe, the contact-mineralized sequence is thinner (up to ca. 400 m) than in the South. Chromitite stringers occur only sporadically, but ultramafic rocks (pyroxenites, serpentinites, and peridotites) are common. Xenoliths of calcsilicate, shale, and iron formation are abundant indicating significant assimilation of the floor rocks. Sulfides may locally form decimeter- to meter-sized massive lenses. PGE grades tend to be higher than elsewhere in the northern Bushveld. The compositions of the rocks show both Upper Critical Zone and Main Zone characteristics. At Nonnenwerth, the mineralized interval is up to ca. 400 m thick. It consists largely of varied-textured gabbronorites, with minor amounts of igneous ultramafic rocks and locally abundant and large xenoliths of calcsilicate. Layering is mostly weakly defined and discontinuous. Disseminated sulfides (<ca. 3 modal %) occur throughout much of the sequence. Geochemistry indicates that the rocks crystallized mainly from tholeiitic magma and thus have a Main Zone signature. The implication of our findings is that contact-style PGE mineralization in the northern lobe of the Bushveld Complex cannot be correlated with specific stratigraphic units or magma types, but that it formed in response to several different processes. At all localities, the magmas were contaminated with the floor rocks. Contamination with shale led to the addition of external sulfur to the magma, whereas contamination with dolomite may have oxidized the magma and lowered its sulfur solubility. In addition to contamination, some of the magmas, notably those of Upper Critical Zone lineage present at the south-central localities, contained entrained sulfides, which precipitated during cooling and crystallization.     

The Lower Zone of the Eastern Bushveld Complex in the Olifants River Trough

The Lower Zone of the Eastern Bushveld Complex in the OlifantsRiver Trough reaches 1584 m in thickness and is divisible intoBasal subzone, Lower Bronzitite, Harzburgite subzone, and UpperBronzitite. The Lower Zone is directly and conformably overlainby the Critical Zone; there is no break between the two. The principal cumulus minerals in the Lower Zone are bronziteand olivine. Chromite is an accessory cumulus mineral in peridotites,especially in the Harzburgite subzone, and cumulus plagioclaseoccurs in two thin units in the Basal subzone. Elsewhere plagioclase,with or without chromian augite, is postcumulus in origin. Electron microprobe analyses show that the range in En and Focontents of bronzite and olivine, respectively, is only a fewper cent over the entire rock sequence. Highest values of bothare found in the Harzburgite subzone. From modal and mineralanalyses the bulk composition of the Lower Zone (wt. per cent)is calculated as SiO₂—53.94, TiO₂—0.08, Cr₂O₃—0.55,V₂O₃—0.01, Al₂O₃—2.64, NiO—0.09, FeO (totalFe as FeO)—9.62, MnO—0.20, MgO—31.72, CaO—1.48,K₂O—0.1, Na₂O—0.13. This composition is unlike thatof any magma type, indicating that the Lower Zone is indeeda pile of crystal cumulates. From the data for the Lower Zone, together with available datafor the Critical, Main, and Upper Zones, the average MgO contentof the Eastern Bushveld Complex is calculated as about 13 percent, the Cr content as in excess of 1000 ppm. Even if the Complexformed from a single body of magma, the magma cannot have beentholeiitic, but rather olivine tholeiitic or picritic. An hypothesis of evolution of the Lower Zone is presented. Shiftsin total pressure are inferred to have been a major factor inproducing the succession of rock types and in producing theextraordinarily persistent chromitites of the overlying CriticalZone. It is suggested that the extraordinary richness in chromiteof the Bushveld is related to its formation not from tholeiiticmagma, but from more Mg-rich, chromium-rich magma drawn froma deeper level of the mantle than that which has yielded thetholeiitic basalts.     

Morphology and microstructure of chromite crystals in chromitites from the Merensky Reef (Bushveld Complex, South Africa)

The Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex consists of two chromitite layers separated by coarse-grained melanorite. Microstructural analysis of the chromitite layers using electron backscatter diffraction analysis (EBSD), high-resolution X-ray microtomography and crystal size distribution analyses distinguished two populations of chromite crystals: fine-grained idiomorphic and large silicate inclusion-bearing crystals. The lower chromitite layer contains both populations, whereas the upper contains only fine idiomorphic grains. Most of the inclusion-bearing chromites have characteristic amoeboidal shapes that have been previously explained as products of sintering of pre-existing smaller idiomorphic crystals. Two possible mechanisms have been proposed for sintering of chromite crystals: (1) amalgamation of a cluster of grains with the same original crystallographic orientation; and (2) sintering of randomly orientated crystals followed by annealing into a single grain. The EBSD data show no evidence for clusters of similarly oriented grains among the idiomorphic population, nor for earlier presence of idiomorphic subgrains spatially related to inclusions, and therefore are evidence against both of the proposed sintering mechanisms. Electron backscatter diffraction analysis maps show deformation-related misorientations and curved subgrain boundaries within the large, amoeboidal crystals, and absence of such features in the fine-grained population. Microstructures observed in the lower chromitite layer are interpreted as the result of deformation during compaction of the orthocumulate layers, and constitute evidence for the formation of the amoeboid morphologies at an early stage of consolidation. An alternative model is proposed whereby silicate inclusions are incorporated during maturation and recrystallisation of initially dendritic chromite crystals, formed as a result of supercooling during emplacement of the lower chromite layer against cooler anorthosite during the magma influx that formed the Merensky Reef. The upper chromite layer formed from a subsequent magma influx, and hence lacked a mechanism to form dendritic chromite. This accounts for the difference between the two layers.     

Continuity between eastern and western Bushveld Complex, South Africa, confirmed by xenoliths from kimberlite

The three-dimensional shapes of mafic layered intrusions have to be inferred from surface outcrops, in some cases aided by drilling and/or geophysical data. However, geophysical models are often equivocal. For the 2.06?Ga Bushveld Complex of South Africa, early geological models proposed a shape of a single, gently inward dipping lopolith. Subsequent resistivity and gravity data were interpreted to suggest that the eastern and western limbs were discrete, dipping wedge-shaped intrusions separated by ~150?km. A more recent gravity model that takes crustal flexure into account allows continuity and the reversal to the original model. Distinguishing between these possibilities is difficult from surface-based studies because the central regions of the Complex are obscured by large volumes of younger granites and sedimentary/volcanic cover rocks. Here, we describe xenoliths from the Cretaceous Palmietgat kimberlite pipe, located mid-way between the exposed western and eastern lobes of the Complex. They are chromite-bearing feldspathic pyroxenites considered equivalent to those of the typical outcropping Critical Zone of the Bushveld Complex. This result provides strong support for a regionally interconnected Bushveld Complex, implying its emplacement as a single sill-like body. Confirming the continuity of the Bushveld Complex greatly expands exploration opportunities and implies that other layered mafic intrusions could have similar geometry.     

Osmium,ruthenium, iridium and uranium in silicates and chromite from the eastern Bushveld Complex,South Africa

Osmium, ruthenium, iridium and uranium contents were determined in eight ortho pyroxene, seven plagioclase, and three chromite mineral separates from the eastern Bushveld Complex. Neutron activation analysis was used to measure the platinum metals, and uranium was determined by a fission track technique. The platinum metals were found to be present within each minéral in the proportions Os:Ru:Ir = 1:7:1, while the concentrations of these metals in the minerals are in the ratios orthopyroxene:plagioclase:chromite = 1:16:700. The concentration of uranium was found to range from 11 to 66 ppb (parts per billion) and not to vary significantly from mineral to mineral. The data for the platinum metals are consistent with a model in which the eastern Bushveld Complex was formed by the fractional crystallization of two separately injected magmas. A computer fit of this model to these data indicates that the initial concentrations of Os, Ru and Ir in the first magma were 0.24, 2.0 and 0.21 ppb and in the second magma were 0.16, 1.1 and 0.18 ppb, respectively. The fit also yields the distribution coefficients for the partitioning between the liquid and cumulus orthopyroxene, cumulus plagioclase and cumulus chromite. These coefficients (mineral/liquid) for osmium are 4.5, 66 and 2700; for ruthenium, they are 5, 65 and 2700; and for iridium, they are 4, 60 and 1600. To make this fit, it was necessary to hypothesize the existence of two types of chromite: one type with a large distribution coefficient, presumably formed as a cumulus phase at high temperature, and another, more prevalent type with a smaller distribution coefficient, which may have been formed by postcumulus growth at a lower temperature. This hypothesis is supported by data for coexisting chromite-silicate pairs, which indicate that the chromite grains expelled these platinum metals as they cooled.     

Platinum-group elements in the Boulder Bed,western Bushveld Complex,South Africa

Concentrations of platinum-group elements in samples from the Boulder Bed at five localities in the western Bushveld Complex range between 50 ppb and 70 ppm. Boulders thus have much more variable, and sometimes highly enriched, PGE contents relative to the other lithologies in the immediate foot-wall sequence of the Merensky Reef. The PGE enrichment can largely be modelled as a result of primary magmatic processes including collection of PGE by segregating sulphide melt and fractionation of mss. Other features of the Boulder Bed, such as the selvages of pure anorthosite and the chromitite stringers surrounding some of the boulders, bear evidence of recrystallisation. A model is proposed by which the Boulder Bed formed as a result of a combination of early and late magmatic processes. The PGEs were collected by magmatic sulphide melt which accumulated in a pyroxenite layer. The host rock to the pyroxenite was a thick package of norites which recrystallised in response to upward-migrating magmatic fluids. The fluids caused partial hydration melting of the norites adjacent to the pyroxenite, producing anorthosite. The boulders represent the broken-up remnants of the pyroxenite layer. The selvages of chromite and pure anorthosite around some of the boulders remain poorly understood, but may represent the latest recrystallisation event, in response to localised late-magmatic fluid overpressure upon cooling.     

Evolution of Part of the Lower Critical Zone, Farm Ruighoek, Western Bushveld

This study of a part of the lower Critical Zone, Farm Ruighoek,Western Bushveld, is based mainly on selected drill core samplesfrom two sections approximately 1.2 miles apart. The 1300-ftsequence investigated consists of pyroxenites with two harzburgitebands and sixteen chromitite seams. Results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that evolutionof the sequence was a cyclic process in which cumulate mineralscrystallized in a zone near the floor of accumulation undergenerally quiescent conditions. Compositional changes of cumulateminerals reflect the influence of a separate intrusion of undifferentiatedparent magma or refusion at depth of crystals formed near thetop of the magma chamber. Interstitial mineral content and plagioclasecomposition reflect changing rates of crystal accumulation.Orthopyroxene grain size and sorting coefficient reflect, inpart, the vertical distance over which crystallization occurred.Textural features and contact relations of chromitite seamsare consistent with the hypothesis that most chromite crystallizedfrom the silicate magma and accumulated during a period of littleor no crystallization of silicate minerals. It is postulatedthat this loose crystal assemblage was enriched by co-accumulationand partial in situ crystallization of chromite-rich immiscibleliquid. Textural, mineralogical, and compositional changes infootwalls and hanging walls of chromitite seams are thoughtto reflect in situ reactions.     

Large-scale magmatic layering in the Main Zone of the Bushveld Complex and episodic downward magma infiltration

The Bellevue drillcore intersects ~3 km of Main and Upper Zone cumulates in the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. Main Zone cumulates are predominately gabbronorites, with localized layers of pyroxenite and anorthosite. Some previous workers, using bulk rock major, trace and isotopic compositions, have suggested that the Main Zone crystallized predominantly from a single pulse of magma. However, density measurements throughout the Bellevue drillcore reveal intervals that show up-section increases in bulk rock density, which are difficult to explain by crystallization from a single batch of magma. Wavelet analysis of the density data suggests that these intervals occur on length-scales of ~40 to ~170 m, thus defining a scale of layering not previously described in the Bushveld Complex. Upward increases in density in the Main Zone correspond to upward increases in modal pyroxene, producing intervals that grade from a basal anorthosite (with 5% pyroxene) to gabbronorite (with 30–40% pyroxene). We examined the textures and mineral compositions of a ~40 m thick interval showing upwardly increasing density to establish how this type of layering formed. Plagioclase generally forms euhedral laths, while orthopyroxene is interstitial in texture and commonly envelops finer-grained and embayed plagioclase grains. Minor interstitial clinopyroxene was the final phase to crystallize from the magma. Plagioclase compositions show negligible change up-section (average An₆₂), with local reverse zoning at the rims of cumulus laths (average increase of 2 mol%). In contrast, interstitial orthopyroxene compositions become more primitive up-section, from Mg# 57 to Mg# 63. Clinopyroxene similarly shows an up-section increase in Mg#. Pyroxene compositions record the primary magmatic signature of the melt at the time of crystallization and are not an artefact of the trapped liquid shift effect. Combined, the textures and decoupled mineral compositions indicate that the upward density increase is produced by the downward infiltration of noritic magma into a previously emplaced plagioclase-rich crystal mush. Fresh noritic magma soaked down into the crystallizing anorthositic mush, partially dissolving plagioclase laths and assimilating Fe-enriched pore melt. The presence of multiple cycles showing upward increases in density in the Bellevue drillcore suggests that downward magma infiltration occurred episodically during crystallization of the Main Zone.     

Trapped intercumulus liquid in the Main Zone of the eastern Bushveld Complex, South Africa

Lateral variations in the amount of trapped intercumulus liquid in the Main Zone of the eastern Bushveld Complex are constrained by new Sr-isotopic, whole-rock and mineralogical data from three profiles that are separated laterally by ca.100 km and represent thicknesses of 551–1,127 m of Main Zone gabbronorites below the Pyroxenite Marker. An analysis of the An-contents (100×Ca/(Ca+Na)) of plagioclase cores within the Thornhill (north), Roossenekal and Stoffberg (south) profiles show similar systematic, up-section variations from An₆₆ to An₅₉. In contrast, both the An-contents of bulk plagioclase separates and the Mg-numbers (100×Mg/(Mg+Fe_T)) of orthopyroxenes show pronounced lateral variations from Thornhill (An_67-61; Mg#_67-61), through Roossenekal (An_64-58; Mg#_64-55) to Stoffberg (An_59-55; Mg#_59-50). These mineralogical variations are interpreted to be the result of reaction between cumulus minerals and an increasing amount of trapped liquid from north to south. Modelling of the trapped liquid shift of orthopyroxene compositions suggests that the amount of trapped liquid in the cumulates increased from near 0% at Thornhill, through 10–30% at Roossenekal to 30–45% at Stoffberg. A two- to eightfold southward increase in whole-rock concentrations of P, Ti, Y, Zr and Ba is consistent with the trapped liquid model. However, the 14-fold increase in Rb from Thornhill to Stoffberg is too great to be accounted for by trapped liquid alone, but can be explained by local assimilation of partial melts of the country rock. Constant initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic ratios of Main Zone plagioclase separates (0.7081–0.7085) in all the three profiles do not preclude assimilation of adjacent basaltic to rhyolitic country rock with initial ratios between 0.6924–0.7096. The southward increase in the amount of trapped liquid is ascribed to an increased cooling rate by enhanced heat loss and partial assimilation of country rock xenoliths in the distal cumulate sequence at Stoffberg. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorised users.