The geochemistry of the Bushveld granites in the Potgietersrus tin-field

An area of 324 km² was selected for a pilot-study of the geochemical characteristics of the Bushveld granites in the Potgietersrus tin-field. Two hundred and sixty nine samples were collected from a regular grid of stations. Additional samples collected from selected sample stations provide data on “about station” variance to test the validity of conclusions based on regional variation. The samples were analysed for Ba, Ce, Co, La, Li, Nb, Ni, Rb, Sc, Sn, Sr, Ti, Y, Zn and Zr together with the major elements Ca, Na and K.The stratiform Bushveld granites have mean concentrations for these elements that compare closely with those in low Ca-granites. Ce, La, Rb, Y, Zn and Zr are enriched relative to low Ca-granites while Sr is markedly impoverished. The stanniferous Bobbejaankop granite stock is distinguished from the stratiform granites with respect to Ba, Sr, Ti and Zn. The median tin concentration in the stratiform granites is 6.5 ppm and in the Bobbejaankop granite it is 9 ppm. Economically viable deposits of tin disseminated through the upper 120 m of the Bobbejaankop granite stock have been exploited for over 70 years.It is concluded that the Bobbejaankop granite crystallized at low temperatures from a hydrous residual melt that had collected beneath a roof of felsite and early crystallization products of the original granitic magma. The presence of this concentration of volatile-rich, hydrous liquid depressed the melting temperatures of the quasi-solid, granitic crystal much below the ambient temperature initiating re-mobilization. The enrichment in Sn of the stratiform granites in the Potgietersrus area is compared with the “normal” (i.e., ± 3 ppm) Sn-content of the Bushveld stratiform granites building the Sekukuni Plateau in the eastern lobe of the Bushveld Complex where no tin mineralization has been reported.     

Self-gravity driven instabilities of interfaces in the interstellar medium

In order to understand star formation it is important to understand the dynamics of atomic and molecular clouds in the interstellar medium (ISM). Non-linear hydrodynamic flows are a key component to the ISM. One route by which non-linear flows arise is the onset and evolution of interfacial instabilities. Interfacial instabilities act to modify the interface between gas components at different densities and temperatures. Such an interface may be subject to a host of instabilities, including the Rayleigh–Taylor, Kelvin–Helmholtz, and Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities. Recently, a new density interface instability was identified. This self-gravity interfacial instability (SGI) causes any displacement of the interface to grow on roughly a free-fall time-scale, even when the perturbation wavelength is much less than the Jeans length. In previous work, we used numerical simulations to confirm the expectations of linear theory and examine the non-linear evolution of the SGI. We now continue our study by generalizing our initial conditions to allow the acceleration due to self-gravity to be non-zero across the interface. We also consider the behaviour of the SGI for perturbation wavelengths near the Jeans wavelength. We conclude that the action of self-gravity across a density interface may play a significant role in the ISM either by fuelling the growth of new instabilities or modifying the evolution of existing instabilities.     

Application of Microtremor Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (MHVSR) Analysis for Site Characterization: State of the Art

Nakamura (Q Rep Railway Tech Res Inst 30:25–33, 1989) popularized the application of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) analysis of microtremor (seismic noise or ambient vibration) recordings to estimate the predominant frequency and amplification factor of earthquake shaking. During the following quarter century, popularity in the microtremor HVSR (MHVSR) method grew; studies have verified the stability of a site’s MHVSR response over time and validated the MHVSR response with that of earthquake HVSR response. Today, MHVSR analysis is a popular reconnaissance tool used worldwide for seismic microzonation and earthquake site characterization in numerous regions, specifically, in the mapping of site period or fundamental frequency and inverted for shear-wave velocity depth profiles, respectively. However, the ubiquity of MHVSR analysis is predominantly a consequence of its ease in application rather than our full understanding of its theory. We present the state of the art in MHVSR analyses in terms of the development of its theoretical basis, current state of practice, and we comment on its future for applications in earthquake site characterization.     

PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGHTH GENERAL MEETING HELD IN PEKING,JULY 25th. & 26th.,1924.

The eighth general meeting of the Geological Society of China was the first meeting in the year 1924, following the Annual Meeting. It was arranged in two evenings as follows.     

Earth-Based Support for the Titan Saturn System Mission

The Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) concept is composed of a TSSM orbiter provided by NASA that would carry two Titan in situ elements provided by ESA: the montgolfière and the probe/lake lander. One overarching goal of TSSM is to explore in situ the atmosphere and surface of Titan. The mission has been prioritized as the second Outer Planets Flagship Mission, the first one being the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM). TSSM would launch around 2023–2025 arriving at Saturn 9 years later followed by a 4-year science mission in the Saturn system. Following delivery of the in situ elements to Titan, the TSSM orbiter would explore the Saturn system via a 2-year tour that includes Enceladus and Titan flybys before entering into a dedicated orbit around Titan. The Titan montgolfière aerial vehicle under consideration will circumnavigate Titan at a latitude of ~20° and at altitudes of ~10 km for a minimum of 6 months. The probe/lake lander will descend through Titan’s atmosphere and land on the liquid surface of Kraken Mare (~75° north latitude). As for any planetary space science mission, and based on the Cassini–Huygens experience, Earth-based observations will be synergistic and enable scientific optimization of the return of such a mission. Some specific examples of how this can be achieved (through VLBI and Doppler tracking, continuous monitoring of atmospheric and surface features, and Direct-to-Earth transmission) are described in this paper.     

Improvements in resource recovery at Stauffer's Big Island Mine

Summary Significant increases in extraction ratio on the order of 6 to 8%, equivalent to as much as 142 t/m of panel advance, have occurred at the Big Island Mine during the last five years with the help of a practical rock mechanics program. This increase in resource recovery has also contributed to improvements in productivity. Both conventional and continuous machine mining have been used to mine two flat-laying trona beds at depths of 250 and 260 m in the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming.Conventional room and pillar mining originally was conducted in panels with extraction ratios of 58 to 60%. The use of yield pillars has allowed the panel extraction to increase to 66%. Continuous machine mining was introduced recently, with a 64% extraction ratio using long, narrow pillars and wide rooms. Further improvements in resource recovery seem feasible in the light of present mining experience.The rock mechanics program consisted of field instrumentation to determine the pillar and roof response to mining, and computer modelling to evaluate and help determine the stability of various layouts, which were then adopted for mining.     

Ore deposits associated with mafic magmas in the Kaapvaal craton

Mafic and ultramafic magmatism played an important role in the 3.5 Ga long history of the Kaapvaal craton. The oldest (3.5 Ga) greenstone belts contain mafic and ultramafic volcanics that erupted in an oceanic environment, probably in oceanic plateaus. Then followed a series of continental flood basalts, from the ∼3.4 Ga old Commondale and Nondweni sequences, to the 180 Ma Karoo basalts. The history was dominated, however, by the emplacement, 2.1 Ga ago, of the Bushveld complex, an enormous layered ultramafic-mafic-felsic intrusion. Three types of ore deposits might be found in such a sequence: Ni-Cu-Fe sulfides in komatiites of the greenstone belts; “Noril'sk-type” Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the Karoo and other flood basalts; and deposits of Cr, platinum-group elements (PGE) and V in the Bushveld and other layered intrusions. Only the latter are present. It is tempting to attribute the absence of komatiite-hosted deposits to the specific character of the ultramafic rocks in Kaapvaal greenstone belts, which are older that the 2.7 Ga komatiites that host deposits in Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe, and are of the less-common “Al-depleted” type. However, a review of mantle melting processes found no obvious connection between the character of the mantle melts and their capacity to form ore deposits. The lack of this type of deposit may be due to differences in the volcanic environment, or it may be fortuitous (the Barberton and other belts are small and could fit into deposit-free parts of the much larger Australian or Canadian belts). Still more puzzling is the absence of Noril'sk-type deposits. The Karoo and older flood basalt sequences appear to contain all the important elements of the volcanic sequences that host the Siberian deposits. It is now recognised that these deposits formed through the segregation of sulfide from magma flowing rapidly through conduits en route from deeper magma chambers to the surface. An exploration approach aimed at understanding the fluid dynamics of such systems seems warranted. Although the Bushveld intrusion has been studied for decades and its deposits are taken as type examples of magmatic mineralisation, the origin of its PGE deposits remains unclear. Opinion is divided on the relative importance of sulfide segregation from magma filling a large chamber at the time of emplacement, and the scavanging of PGE from fluids circulating through cumulates at a late magmatic stage. Answers to these questions may come from studies designed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms through which the magma chamber filled and solidified. Received: 15 September 1996 / Accepted: 7 January 1997