Abstract
Mineralized conglomerates in the Witwatersrand goldfields consistently exhibit intense fracturing of quartz pebbles. The fractures are coated with quartz, phyllosilicates, organic matter, uraninite, gold, and base metal sulfide minerals, showing that all of these phases were at least partially epigenetic. Samples from five goldfields (Evander, West Rand, Carletonville, Klerksdorp, Welkom) across the Witwatersrand Basin show comparable paragenetic sequences of fracture-fillings. This implies that fracturing and several episodes of mineral deposition were basinwide events, rather than the result of local processes. Fluid inclusion data for the quartz indicates precipitation from these basinwide fluids at relatively low temperatures (<250 °C), which may be consistent with other evidence for mineralization following the Vredefort Event at 2025 Ma.
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