MINERALOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF QUARTZ-ARENITES OF THE WITPOORT FORMATION (CAPE SUPERGROUP) NEAR KIRKWOOD, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Research Article| December 01, 2011 MINERALOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF QUARTZ-ARENITES OF THE WITPOORT FORMATION (CAPE SUPERGROUP) NEAR KIRKWOOD, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA W.C. OLIVIER; W.C. OLIVIER Department of Geosciences, P O Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa, e-mail: wcolie4@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P.W.K. BOOTH; P.W.K. BOOTH Department of Geosciences, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa, e-mail: Peter.Booth@nmmu.ac.za (corresponding author) Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C.R. ANDERSON C.R. ANDERSON Department of Geosciences, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa, e-mail: Callum.Anderson@nmmu.ac.za Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information W.C. OLIVIER Department of Geosciences, P O Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa, e-mail: wcolie4@gmail.com P.W.K. BOOTH Department of Geosciences, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa, e-mail: Peter.Booth@nmmu.ac.za (corresponding author) C.R. ANDERSON Department of Geosciences, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa, e-mail: Callum.Anderson@nmmu.ac.za Publisher: Geological Society of South Africa First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1996-8590 Print ISSN: 1012-0750 © 2011 Geological Society of South Africa South African Journal of Geology (2011) 114 (3-4): 249–264. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.114.3-4.249 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation W.C. OLIVIER, P.W.K. BOOTH, C.R. ANDERSON; MINERALOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF QUARTZ-ARENITES OF THE WITPOORT FORMATION (CAPE SUPERGROUP) NEAR KIRKWOOD, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA. South African Journal of Geology 2011;; 114 (3-4): 249–264. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.114.3-4.249 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySouth African Journal of Geology Search Advanced Search Abstract A study of Late Palaeozoic Witteberg Group rocks (Cape Supergroup) near Kirkwood, Eastern Cape was carried out to determine the viability of extracting silica for solar cell production. Mineralogical, geochemical and structural analyses of selected outcrops of quartz-arenites showed that source rocks in the study area do not possess the appropriate chemical attributes to warrant extraction of silica. Despite this finding the study presents valuable information on strata composition and structural data which are compared and interpreted with known regional structural patterns of the Cape Fold Belt in the Eastern Cape.Samples from the Witpoort Formation were analyzed using petrographic light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy. Analyses indicate that samples are composed almost entirely of quartz, with accessory biotite, muscovite, sericite, baryte, apatite, rutile and monazite. Haematite occurs most frequently along fractures, and is more prevalent in the Rooirand Member than the Perdepoort Member, giving the former a reddish brown colour on outcrop. The presence of chemical impurities is thought to be partly controlled by the original depositional environment, namely, near-shore and beach environments.Strata in the study area display a range of fold styles, mostly showing northward vergence. Low angle thrust faults dip south and some thrusts dip north. In general, the orientation of fore-thrusts and folds in the study area indicate a northward-directed compression event during the Late Palaeozoic. This pattern conforms to the structural development in other parts of the Cape Fold Belt in the Eastern Cape. South-dipping normal faults and strike-slip faults post-date thrust faulting, and formed during the breakup of Gondwana, during the Mesozoic, transecting all other structures in the study area. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.