Merensky Reef Research Articles

Element mapping the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex

The Merensky Reef hosts one of the largest PGE resources globally. It has been exploited for nearly 100 years, yet its origin remains unresolved. In the present study, we characterised eight samples of the reef at four localities in the western Bushveld Complex using micro-X-ray fluorescence and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Our results indicate that the Merensky Reef formed through a range of diverse processes. Textures exhibited by chromite grains at the base of the reef are consistent with supercooling and in situ growth. The local thickening of the Merensky chromitite layers within troughs in the floor rocks is most readily explained by granular flow. Annealing and deformation textures in pyroxenes of the Merensky pegmatoid bear testament to recrystallisation and deformation. The footwall rocks to the reef contain disseminations of PGE rich sulphides as well as olivine grains with peritectic reaction rims along their upper margins suggesting reactive downward flow of silicate and sulphide melts. Olivine-hosted melt inclusions containing Cl-rich apatite, sodic plagioclase, and phlogopite suggest the presence of highly evolved, volatile-rich melts. Pervasive reverse zonation of cumulus plagioclase in the footwall of the reef indicates dissolution or partial melting of plagioclase, possibly triggered by flux of heat, acidic fluids, or hydrous melt. Together, these data suggest that the reef formed through a combination of magmatic, hydrodynamic and hydromagmatic processes.

Assessing the extent of local crust assimilation within the Flatreef, northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, using sulfur isotopes and trace element geochemistry

The proximity to metasedimentary footwall rocks relative to platinum group element (PGE) mineralized intrusive rocks in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) has resulted in complex local contamination in the intrusions. To assess the extent of incorporation of non-magmatic material and its effects on PGE mineralization, major element, trace element, and S isotopic data were collected from drill core UMT094 on the Turfspruit farm, where core logging has shown that the mineralized Platreef, forming the Flatreef deposit, is located stratigraphically well above local sedimentary footwall rocks. The S isotopic data combined with whole rock geochemistry data (including CaO/Al2O3, (V/Ti)PM, (Ni/Cr)PM, S/Se, loss on ignition) were used to assess incorporation of a range of local footwall material. The δ34S data show a steady decrease from the footwall assimilation zone (δ34S typically + 8 to + 9‰, maximum 12‰) to near constant δ34S values (δ34S < + 4‰) below the main PGE reef. Similar values have been documented for the Merensky Reef in the eastern and western limbs of the BIC (δ34S ~ 0 to + 3.5‰). Other geochemical parameters, such as S/Se and CaO/Al2O3, also match the ranges documented for the Merensky Reef elsewhere in the BIC. In addition, parameters such as whole rock V/Ti, normalized to primitive mantle (V/Ti)PM, are shown to be useful indicators of contamination and the type of contaminant with 1 < (V/Ti)PM < 2 for uncontaminated magmatic units; [V/Ti]pm > 2 for shale assimilation; and [V/Ti]pm < 1 for carbonate assimilation. The results suggest that the main PGE mineralization in the Flatreef deposit formed without significant in situ contamination and that the primary mechanism of PGE mineralization in the Platreef at Turfspruit was no different than the mechanism that generated the Merensky Reef in the eastern and western limbs of the BIC.

UPGRADING OF MAGMATIC SULFIDES, REVISITED

Abstract There has been vigorous debate for several decades about whether the extreme enrichments of platinum group elements (PGEs) in some magmatic sulfide deposits could have resulted from simple equilibration of sulfide liquid with silicate melt. Key examples include the Ni-Cu-Pd mineralization in the Norilsk mining camp, the UG2 and Merensky reef Pt-Pd deposits in the Bushveld Complex, the Pd-rich J-M reef of the Stillwater Complex, and the Skaergaard Pd-Au mineralization. It was argued historically that the observed PGE tenors in these latter deposits are too high to be consistent with simple equilibration of sulfide and silicate melt. A commonly cited mechanism for increasing PGE tenor in magmatic sulfide is the upgrading of initially low tenor sulfide by allowing a small volume of sulfide to react with successive batches of fresh, previously undepleted silicate magma. Here we review several previous models for sulfide upgrading in light of recent changes in accepted values of the partition coefficients governing PGE exchange between sulfide and silicate, and we critically examine the physical scenarios implicit in each previous model. We show that, although sulfide upgrading may occur in natural settings such as fractional melting of the mantle, during the formation of sulfide accumulations from magmas it is unlikely to have effects that can be distinguished from simple one-stage batch equilibration. Even the most PGE-rich deposits currently known have compositions that can easily be accounted for by the simple one-stage batch process, with the possible exception of the Skaergaard Pd mineralization. It is generally not possible to use the measured composition of accumulations of magmatic sulfide to infer that sulfide upgrading has or has not occurred.

Strontium isotope stratigraphy through the Flatreef PGE-Ni-Cu mineralization at Turfspruit, northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex: evidence of correlation with the Merensky Unit of the eastern and western limbs

The origin of PGE-Ni-Cu mineralization in the Platreef, northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC), and the possible correlation with the Merensky Reef in the eastern and western limbs has been long debated. The Platreef and Merensky Reef share the same stratigraphic position in the uppermost part of the Upper Critical Zone (UCZ), near the transition to the overlaying Main Zone (MZ). However, discrepancies in interpretations have been difficult to resolve due to the effects of intense magma-country rock interaction throughout most of the northern limb succession. To address this problem, we generated a detailed stratigraphic profile of the initial strontium isotopic ratio [Sri = (87Sr/86Sr)i] in plagioclase across a Flatreef interval lacking macroscopic evidence of country rock assimilation. The in situ Sr isotopic ratios in plagioclase were determined using LA-MC-ICP-MS analysis on 37 samples from a drill core (UMT094) at the Turfspruit project. Strontium isotope stratigraphy is useful because of a well-documented shift in Sri near the base of the Merensky Unit in the eastern and western limbs. The results show the existence of a significant shift (from Sri = 0.7060 to Sri = 0.7090) that matches the isotopic shift documented through the Merensky Unit in the eastern and western limbs. Thus, this new Sr isotope data indicates that the main mineralized interval of the Flatreef can be stratigraphically correlated to the Merensky Reef in the remainder of the BIC. In addition, we interpret these results as compelling evidence to suggest that the main mineralization processes in the Flatreef were likely similar to those operating in the eastern and western limbs and that interaction with local country rocks was not a necessary condition.

Strontium isotope variations in the Flatreef on Macalacaskop, northern limb, Bushveld Complex: implications for the source of platinum-group elements in the Merensky Reef

The Platreef of the Bushveld Complex is one of three key stratigraphic units, along with the Merensky and UG-2 reefs, in which platinum-group elements are concentrated. The correlation between the Platreef and the stratigraphy from the western and eastern limbs of the BC has been challenging due to the heterogeneous and variable nature of the Platreef along strike. However, the discovery of the Flatreef, interpreted as the down dip, sub-horizontal extension of the Platreef, on the farms Turfspruit and Macalacaskop, opened new avenues for enquiry that allow the study of a magmatic stratigraphy less affected by footwall interaction. In this study, we report on the Sr isotope composition of plagioclase through an ~ 280-m-thick intersection of the Flatreef and its footwalls and hanging walls as intersected by borehole UMT-393 drilled on the farm Macalacaskop. Comparison of the Sr-isotopic composition and the anorthite content of plagioclase across this intersection with data from the Merensky and Bastard cyclic units elsewhere in the Bushveld Complex supports the contention that the Flatreef is a correlative of the Upper Critical Zone–Main Zone transition, including the Merensky and Bastard cyclic units. The available data suggest that the sulfides of the Flatreef and its correlatives in the remainder of the Bushveld Complex originally formed in a deeper staging chamber. During continued magma ascent some of the sulfides were entrained and deposited in the Flatreef.

Formation of the Flatreef deposit, northern Bushveld, by hydrodynamic and hydromagmatic processes

New lithological and whole rock compositional data show that the main platinum-group element (PGE) horizons of the Flatreef succession show strong compositional similarities to the Merensky and Bastard reefs of the western Bushveld Complex (WBC), notably in terms of many immobile and incompatible minor and trace elements such as TiO2, Zr, Y, and REE. However, Al2O3, CaO, and Na2O contents are markedly lower in the Flatreef, whereas MgO contents are higher. In view of broadly similar silicate mineral compositions in the Flatreef and the WBC reefs, we suggest that the major element compositional differences between the rocks are largely due to higher modal proportions of orthopyroxene and olivine and lower proportions of plagioclase in the Flatreef. The thickness of the mineralised interval is much greater in the Flatreef than in the WBC (several 10 s of m vs ~ 1 m) and the abundance of sulfides in the Flatreef is typically somewhat higher (on average ~ 1.5% vs ~ 1%). These data, complemented by textural observations, are interpreted to reflect enhanced hydrodynamic crystal sorting accompanied by percolation of sulfide melt through incompletely solidified cumulates. Further genetic constraints are provided by metal data: The concentration of Ni (~ 3000 ppm) in the Flatreef is broadly similar to that in the Merensky Reef of the WBC, but Cu contents are markedly higher (average ~ 1500 ppm vs 700 ppm in the WBC). The concentrations of most PGE are slightly lower (Flatreef ~ 1.5–2 ppm Pt, ~ 100–150 ppb Rh; WBC MR 3.7 ppm Pt, 240 ppb Rh), but Pd has broadly similar contents (Flatreef ~ 1.2–2 ppm; WBC MR 1.54 ppm). The relatively high Cu content of the Flatreef is interpreted as a result of assimilation of Cu sulfides from the sedimentary floor rocks. The reason for the enrichment of Pd relative to Pt, especially in the basal rocks, remains unclear. It could reflect mobilisation of Pd via a fluid phase from the country rocks or the interior of the intrusion, relatively enhanced partitioning of Pd into the sulfides, or relative Pt depletion of the earliest magma pulses in response to Pt alloy fractionation triggered by contamination with reducing country rocks.

Rapid cooling of the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Complex (South Africa): Insights from biotite 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

Abstract Despite their importance to understanding magma chamber processes and the formation of economically viable precious metal deposits, the cooling histories of layered mafic intrusions remain enigmatic due to limited geochronologic constraints. We provide a comprehensive 40Ar/39Ar study of biotite throughout the Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS) of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa. Analyses of individual biotite grains from 10 samples, encompassing ∼5.5 km of RLS stratigraphy, yielded weighted mean plateau ages that all overlap at 2σ (α-95% confidence level) and range from 2056.3 ± 3.2 Ma to 2052.0 ± 7.6 Ma (2σ). A weighted mean of all biotite plateau ages yielded an age of 2054.47 ± 0.84 Ma (2σ, n = 30, mean square of weighted deviates = 0.23, P = 1.00; ±21 Ma fully propagated). The overlap between our 40Ar/39Ar biotite and published U-Pb zircon ages suggests that the RLS cooled rapidly to the closure temperature of biotite, with cooling rates on the order of 1000 °C m.y.–1 throughout the stratigraphy. Thermal modeling requires enhanced heat loss, due to the hydrothermal system associated with the emplacement of the RLS, to produce the inferred rapid cooling rates. Previously reported young 40Ar/39Ar biotite ages from the UG-2 and MG-1 chromitite seams and the Merensky Reef are likely a product of localized late-stage circulation of hydrothermal fluids. The lack of similarly young 40Ar/39Ar biotite ages from the remainder of the stratigraphy suggests that late-stage hydrothermal events were potentially localized to chromitites and the Merensky Reef.

Bowlesite, PtSnS, a new platinum group mineral (PGM) from the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa

AbstractBowlesite is a new mineral discovered in the Merensky Reef of the Rustenburg Platinum Mine, Bushveld complex, South Africa. Bowlesite forms tiny grains (maximum dimension 20 μm). It is associated with sulfides including chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pentlandite, in contact with silicates including plagioclase, pyroxene- and minor serpentine-subgroup and amphibole-supergroup minerals. Bowlesite is brittle and has a metallic lustre. In plane-polarised light, bowlesite has a light bluish grey colour. It shows weak bireflectance, no pleochroism and has weak anisotropism. Internal reflections were not observed. Reflectance values of bowlesite in air (R1, R2 in %) are: 50.3–51.4 at 470 nm, 48.5–48.9 at 546 nm, 47.9–48.6 at 589 nm and 47.8–48.7 at 650 nm. Ten spot analyses of bowlesite give the average composition: Pt 56.85, Pd 0.02, Sn 34.03 and S 9.15, total 100.05 wt.%, corresponding to the empirical formula (Pt1.001Pd0.001)Σ1.002Sn0.997S1.001, based on 3 atoms per formula unit. The simplified formula is PtSnS. Due to the small size of bowlesite, the crystal structure was solved and refined from the powder X-ray-diffraction data of synthetic PtSnS. The calculated density is 10.06 g⋅cm–3. The mineral is orthorhombic, space group: Pca21 (#29) with a = 6.11511(10), b = 6.12383(10), c = 6.09667(11) Å, V = 228.31(1) Å3 and Z = 4. Bowlesite is isotypic with cobaltite, CoAsS. The origin of bowlesite is probably related to low-T exsolution of Pt–Sn phases from high-T sulfides crystallised from the sulfide melt. The mineral honours Dr. John Bowles (Manchester University, UK) for his contributions to ore mineralogy and mineral deposits related to mafic–ultramafic rocks.

Zoned Laurite from the Merensky Reef, Bushveld Complex, South Africa: “Hydrothermal” in Origin?

Laurite, ideally (Ru,Os)S2, is a common accessory mineral in podiform and stratiform chromitites and, to a lesser extent, it also occurs in placer deposits and is associated with Ni-Cu magmatic sulfides. In this paper, we report on the occurrence of zoned laurite found in the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld layered intrusion, South Africa. The zoned laurite forms relatively large crystals of up to more than 100 µm, and occurs in contact between serpentine and sulfides, such as pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandite, that contain small phases containing Pb and Cl. Some zoned crystals of laurite show a slight enrichment in Os in the rim, as typical of laurite that crystallized at magmatic stage, under decreasing temperature and increasing sulfur fugacity, in a thermal range of about 1300–1000 °C. However, most of the laurite from the Merensky Reef are characterized by an unusual zoning that involves local enrichment of As, Pt, Ir, and Fe. Comparison in terms of Ru-Os-Ir of the Merensky Reef zoned laurite with those found in the layered chromitites of the Bushveld and podiform chromitites reveals that they are enriched in Ir. The Merensky Reef zoned laurite also contain high amount of As (up to 9.72 wt%), Pt (up to 9.72 wt%) and Fe (up to 14.19 wt%). On the basis of its textural position, composition, and zoning, we can suggest that the zoned laurite of the Merensky Reef is “hydrothermal” in origin, having crystallized in the presence of a Cl- and As-rich hydrous solution, at temperatures much lower than those typical of the precipitation of magmatic laurite. Although, it remains to be seen whether the “hydrothermal” laurite precipitated directly from the hydrothermal fluid, or it represents the alteration product of a pre-existing laurite reacting with the hydrothermal solution.

Non-Sequential Injection of PGE-rich Ultramafic Sills in the Platreef Unit at Akanani, Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex: Evidence from Sr and Nd Isotopic Systematics

Abstract The Platreef Unit is a deceptively complex sequence of layered cumulates located in the northern limb of the 2·055 Ga-old Bushveld Complex. The unit contains the Platreef, a thick, richly mineralized stratabound PGE orebody which differs markedly from the comparatively thin, predominantly stratiform Merensky Reef found in the Upper Critical Zone of the eastern and western limbs. The Platreef Unit is interpreted as a localized facies of the Upper Critical Zone, despite layering being neither as systematic nor as clearly defined as in the equivalent stratigraphy found in the other limbs. The Platreef Unit in the Akanani project area includes well-defined layers of feldspathic harzburgite and norite, in addition to the ubiquitous feldspathic orthopyroxenite–melanorite that characterizes other sections. The paucity of floor-rock xenoliths is an additional feature. The relatively well-developed nature of the layering and paucity of xenoliths in the Platreef Unit at Akanani is explained by separation of the unit from the floor of the intrusion by a thick succession of ultramafics assigned to the Lower Critical Zone. We identify three lithological subgroups in the Platreef Unit at Akanani. They do not define an upward-younging stratigraphy. The primary stratigraphy, or PU1 subunit, is dominated by multiple layers of feldspathic orthopyroxenite, melanorite, and norite. This subunit built up from incremental addition of relatively small magma pulses. Repeated magma replenishment induced concomitant partial melting of earlier-formed layers. The PU1 subunit includes thin chromite stringers that contain Cr-spinels with unusual, amoeboidal textures consistent with several stages of growth and re-equilibration. The feldspathic harzburgite of the younger PU2 subunit was emplaced non-sequentially into the already complexly-layered PU1 subunit as a series of sinuous lenses or syn-intrusive sills. One of the PU2 sills contains the richest and most consistent of the mineralized sections at Akanani, i.e., the Main Mineralized Reef (MMR). The irregularly-developed pegmatoidal lithologies of the PU3 subunit are ascribed to recrystallization of earlier-formed cumulates (PU1 and PU2). Whole rock isotopic data for a section of the Platreef Unit, together with the overlying Lower Main Zone and underlying Lower Critical Zone, mostly from drill-hole ZF-1, demonstrate a complex pattern in both Sr87/Sr86 initial ratios and ϵNd values. These patterns are consistent with multiple lineages of parental magmas. The Lower Main Zone and the majority of the Platreef Unit are characterized by anomalously high Sr initial ratios (with a large degree of scatter) and low ϵNd values (relatively tightly constrained). Harzburgite layers from the Lower Critical Zone have a low Sr initial ratio and a relatively high ϵNd value. The new isotopic data suggest these sequences crystallized from multiple magma batches, broadly constrained within the U-type (ultramafic) and A-type (tholeiitic) lineages, derived from mantle sources and/or staging chambers which experienced varying degrees of crustal contamination. The MMR crystallized from a specific pulse of the U-type magma lineage characterized by a high Sr87/Sr86 initial ratio (average of 0·71113) and a markedly low ϵNd value (average of -11·35). The olivine-saturated magmas associated with the MMR were derived from a localized mantle source and yet underwent an unusually high degree of crustal contamination. Some layered PGE orebodies in the Bushveld Complex, including the Platreef and Merensky Reef, were emplaced as syn-magmatic sills which crystallized from anomalously PGE-rich parental magmas with an unique isotopic fingerprint.

Chromite chemistry of a massive chromitite seam in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa: correlation with the UG-2 in the eastern and western limbs and evidence of variable assimilation of footwall rocks

The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is known for its laterally extensive platinum group element–bearing layers, the most famous being the Merensky Reef and the UG-2 chromitite in the eastern and western limbs of the complex. In the northern limb, the Platreef mineralization and a thick chromitite seam below it (referred to as the “UG-2 equivalent” or UG-2E) have been proposed to be the stratigraphic equivalents of the Merensky Reef and the UG-2, respectively. In this study, we compare a suite of UG-2E samples from the Turfspruit project with a UG-2 reference suite from the western limb using petrography, electron probe microanalysis, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results show that (a) in Mg# vs. Cr# diagrams, UG-2E chromites have a distinct compositional field; however, when samples of similar chromite modal abundance (≥ 80%) are used, the UG-2E chromites overlap the field that characterizes UG-2 chromites; (b) the UG-2E is more variable in chromite modal abundance than the UG-2; and (c) variations in Mg# and Fe3+/ΣFe in the UG-2E indicate contamination of the magma by metasedimentary rocks of the Duitschland Formation (Transvaal Supergroup) during emplacement, followed by partial re-equilibration of chromite grains with a trapped melt. Thus, we conclude that for chromite modes higher than 80%, the chromite composition retains enough information to allow correlation and that the UG-2E in the northern limb is very likely the UG-2 chromitite.

Concentrations of Te, As, Bi, Sb and Se in the Marginal Zone of the Bushveld Complex: Evidence for crustal contamination and the nature of the magma that formed the Merensky Reef

The association of platinum-group elements (PGE) and the chalcophile elements Te, As, Bi, Sb and Sn (TABS) has been extensively documented in several magmatic sulfide deposits over the past years. However, understanding the roles of TABS during the formation of magmatic sulfide deposits partially depends on constraining the concentration of TABS on the liquids from which they crystallized. This study presents the distribution of TABS (apart from Sn) in rocks of the Marginal Zone of the Bushveld Complex. These rocks record the composition of the parental magmas from which the Bushveld Complex have crystallized. The major and trace elements of the marginal rocks have been modelled as mixtures of komatiite, continental crust and a plagioclase-rich residuum. Similar mixtures are required to model the TABS in the marginal rocks, with the continental crust component contributing a large part of the As, Sb and Bi budgets in these melts. The concentrations of the TABS in the Merensky Reef can be modelled as a mixture of two of the magma types present in the Marginal Zone (the B-1 and B-2). The modelling also reveals that the distributions of Se, Te and Bi in the reef are essentially controlled by the presence of sulfide minerals, whereas As and Sb distributions are controlled by both sulfide minerals and melt component. This is because Se, Te and Bi are moderately to strongly chalcophile elements, but As and Sb are only slightly chalcophile elements. Thus, whole-rock As and Sb concentrations are not upgraded by the formation of the sulfide minerals, and may still be used to trace crustal contamination.

The role of Te, As, Bi, Sn and Sb during the formation of platinum-group-element reef deposits: Examples from the Bushveld and Stillwater Complexes

The distribution of platinum-group element (PGE) and Te, As, Bi, Sb and Sn (TABS) in whole-rock samples, and in disseminated base metal sulfides (BMS) pentlandite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite from the Bushveld and Stillwater Complexes are reported. The samples are from: the Merensky Reef (Bushveld), the J-M Reef (Stillwater), Picket Pin deposit (Stillwater), and also barren sulfide-bearing samples, from outside the reef intervals from both intrusions. The objective of the study was to document the distribution of PGE and TABS in PGE-reef deposits, and to investigate whether TABS play a significant role during the formation of PGE-reef deposits.The whole-rock concentrations of PGE and TABS (except for As) correlate with S and PGE, and thus their distribution appear to be controlled by BMS. The distribution of As, and to a lesser extent Sb, correlate with incompatible elements and with changes in K-phologopite compositions, suggesting that these elements are controlled both by the amount of trapped liquid in cumulate rocks, and the amount of sulfides. The possible role of TABS in forming pre-nucleation clusters (nanonuggets) to enrich the reefs in PGE is considered and discarded, because the ratio of TABS/PGE < 0.3 is too low for TABS to form pre-nucleation clusters with PGE. A model where both the PGE and TABS are initially collected by a base metal sulfide liquid is favoured. During equilibrium crystallization of the sulfide liquid, Pd, Pt and the TABS were incompatible with the crystallizing BMS, and concentrated in the fractionated liquid eventually crystallizing as TABS-rich PGM. However, a portion of Pd, Pt and TABS also partitioned into the crystallizing BMS. During cooling and S-loss they exsolved from the BMS as PGM included in the BMS. In the reefs, the ratio of PGE/TABS is very high, and thus during exsolution all of the TABS could be accommodated in PGM, and consequently the BMS of the reefs have very low TABS concentrations. In contrast, outside the reefs the PGE/TABS ratios are low, and thus some TABS remained in the BMS, resulting in the BMS outside the reefs having higher TABS concentrations than those from within the reefs.

Investigation of compositional variations in chromitite ore with imaging Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Spectral Angle Mapper classification algorithm

This paper focusses on the applicability of the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) algorithm for supervised classification of imaging Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) data. Our main objective is to investigate variations in the chemical/mineralogical composition of complex ore from the sub-millimetre to the metre scale, which may offer novel and barely investigated interpretation opportunities for exploration purposes. This research is based on coarse chromitite ore from Merensky Reef, represented by a drill core and a small section through the upper chromitite layer. Detailed LIBS-based imaging measurements were accompanied by space-resolved reference measurements based on SEM/MLA and EDXRF, as well as bulk chemical analyses for multiple core slices. The SAM algorithm was applied for classification of LIBS hyperspectral images with respect to differences in mineral chemistry. Our investigations focused on the pre-processing of LIBS spectra prior to SAM classification, on spectral library development, as well as on the validation of the classified data. The SAM classification algorithm, which is solely based on ratios between spectral intensities, was found insensitive to normal shot-to-shot plasma variations and to chemically induced matrix effects. However, the algorithm may become inaccurate at low signal to noise ratios, at the border between different mineral grains (mixed spectra), or when classifying chemically similar phases such as pyrite and pyrrhotite. The extent of mixed spectra depends both on the size of the mineral grains as well as on the spot size of the LIBS laser. The SAM algorithm was successfully applied for classification of several base metal sulphides, rock-forming minerals, accessory minerals, as well as several mixed phases representing the main borders between different mineral grains. The resulting classified LIBS image shows the spatial distribution of the different phases, which is in very good agreement with the space-resolved reference measurements based on EDXRF and SEM/MLA. The results also highlight the extremely heterogeneous distribution of e.g. the sulphide phases in the investigated core piece. The applicability of the LIBS-SAM classification image for estimating metal concentrations based on point counting has been explored for Cu, Ni, S, and Cr. We conclude that this approach, when applied on sufficiently large surfaces, enables semi-quantitative data analysis, as well as the possible detection of trace elements (e.g. Pt, Pd) that occur in very small nuggets.

Merensky-type platinum deposits and a reappraisal of magma chamber paradigms

Most of the world’s economically-viable platinum deposits occur as ‘reefs’ in layered intrusions – thin layers of silicate rocks that contain sulphides enriched in noble metals. There are two contrasting magmatic hypotheses for their formation. The first suggests accumulation through gravity-induced settling of crystals onto the magma chamber floor. The alternative argues for in situ crystallization, i.e. upward growth from the floor. Here we report on our discovery of the Merensky Reef in the Bushveld Complex that occurs on subvertical to overturned margins of depressions in a temporary chamber floor. Such relationships preclude crystal settling and demonstrate that the reef crystallized in situ. This finding indicates that platinum deposits can grow directly at the chamber floor, with immiscible sulfide droplets sequestering ore-forming noble metals from strongly convecting silicate magmas. Our model also provides evidence for the paradigm that argues for magma chambers being masses of nearly crystal-free melt, which gradually loses heat and crystallizes from the margins inward.

Geoheritage of the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa: a Uniquely Exposed Layered Igneous Intrusion

The eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex outcrops in the Middleveld, a localized physiographic region of northeastern South Africa associated with an erosional embayment into the interior plateau. Superimposed drainage of the Olifants and Steelpoort Rivers has produced a mountainous terrain where the layered ultramafic-mafic rocks (“Rustenburg Layered Suite”) and metamorphic aureole outcrop in regional escarpments and arcuate ridges. Meter-thick igneous layers can be delineated for tens of kilometers. Five principal zones are recognized; each comprised of different groups of cumulates with distinctive marker layers. Orebodies such as chromitites and PGE reefs (Critical Zone) and Ti-magnetite layers (Upper Zone) are constrained to specific zones. Despite the origin of igneous layering being incompletely understood, field evidence suggests that the Rustenburg Layered Suite developed incrementally from injection of thin magma sheets. Each zone is associated with discrete lineages of parental magmas. The Merensky Reef, the most well known of the layered orebodies, has an unusual origin in that it may have crystallized from ultramafic sills that were injected into a pre-existing noritic-anorthositic substrate. The primary layering is transgressed by discordant ultramafic bodies, of which two types, dunite pipes and the unusual iron-rich ultramafic pegmatite bodies, are significant. The eastern limb has a long history of human habitation and the valleys and interior plateau are relatively densely populated. Details of the African Iron Age and history of the Sekhukhune people are preserved at the Tsate cultural center. Three pioneering geologists, Arthur Hall, Hans Merensky, and Percy Wagner, greatly advanced Bushveld geology and were involved in the 1924-9 “platinum rush.” This culminated in discovery of four platiniferous discordant pipes and the Merensky Reef. The mining heritage includes the discovery site of platinum (Mooihoek pipe), the world’s oldest underground platinum mine (Onverwacht pipe), and historical workings on the Merensky Reef (Winnaarshoek). The combination of classic outcrops of layered ultramafic-mafic rocks, together with the unique community and mining heritage, justifies establishing an eastern limb geopark.

The Upper Critical Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite in the Swartklip Sector, north-western Bushveld Complex, on the farm Wilgerspruit 2JQ: I. Stratigraphy and PGE mineralization patterns

AbstractThe Upper Critical Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS) in the Swartklip Sector, north-western Bushveld Complex, is considerably attenuated relative to other parts of the Complex. The interval between the UG2 chromitite and the Merensky Reef amounts to as little as 25 m in places. Within this interval, the aggregate thickness of orthopyroxenite-dominated ultramafic layers hosting the UG1 and UG2 chromitites and the Merensky and Bastard reefs does not differ significantly from the area around Rustenburg, to the south. The total thickness of ultramafic lithologies is, in fact, increased by the presence of the 3 to 5 m thick olivine-rich Pseudo Reef Unit, which is developed between the UG2 and Merensky Reef units in the Swartklip Sector, but does not occur in any significant form elsewhere in the Bushveld intrusion. The substantial thinning of the succession is due almost entirely to the fact that plagioclase-rich rocks (norite and anorthosite) between the ultramafic layers are radically thinned in the Swartklip Sector relative to virtually all other parts of the Bushveld Complex. The ultramafic layers, although dominated by orthopyroxenite, are characterized by higher proportions of olivine than in other parts of the Bushveld Complex. In our logging of the substantial number of exploration drill cores that form the basis of this study, we have found it expedient to define stratigraphic units that are either exclusively plagioclase-rich (norite and anorthosite) or plagioclase-poor (consisting of varying proportions of orthopyroxenite, harzburgite and chromitite). This effectively binary system of lithological classification has no overt genetic connotations.Our nomenclature has, in fact, enabled us to rigorously document the nature of contacts between ultramafic and plagioclase-rich units, and thus to identify unconformities between the ultramafic units (orthopyroxenite and harzburgite) and intervening noritic and anorthositic units, which have in the past been ascribed to localized thermo-chemical erosion of pre-existing plagioclase-rich cumulates. Apart from the well-documented evidence of erosional unconformities at the basal contacts of ultramafic units, we also provide evidence for unconformities at the tops of these units.

The Upper Critical Zone in the Swartklip Sector, north-western Bushveld Complex, on the farm Wilgerspruit 2JQ: II. Origin by intrusion of ultramafic sills with concomitant partial melting of host norite-anorthosite cumulates

Abstract In the Bushveld Complex, the ultramafic (orthopyroxenite/harzburgite with chromitite) layers that host most of the PGE and chromite mineralization in the Upper Critical Zone display well-documented discordant basal contacts with their anorthositic and noritic host rocks. Whilst not so well documented, there is evidence that the upper contacts of these units are also discordant. We review the nature of the contacts between the ultramafic units and adjacent plagioclase-rich lithologies. These include contact phenomena like pegmatoidal lithologies and thin magmatic reaction chromite stringers. We conclude that most, if not all, ultramafic layers were intruded as sills into pre-existing norite/anorthosite cumulates. The sequence of norites and anorthosites that hosts the ultramafic layers was built up by a prior series of multiple tholeiitic (A-type) magma intrusions. The spectrum of lithologies from melanorite through to (mottled) anorthosite represents differing degrees of partial melting in response to these successive magma influxes. Density and competence contrasts between layers of plagioclase-rich rocks in turn provided pathways for sill propagation of subsequent ultramafic (U-type) magmas. The ultramafic magmas further modified the host norites and anorthosites by processes of partial melting and metasomatism. The ultramafic units themselves accumulated as composite sills in response to multiple magma injections. In the western Bushveld Complex, particularly including the Swartklip Sector in the north-western part of the complex, the Merensky Reef is represented by various facies that occur at different levels in the host stratigraphy. This phenomenon has been referred to by the term “regional potholing”, and has been attributed to the erosion of footwall cumulates by new influxes of magma. We suggest that a series of step-and-stair-type transitions of intruding sills to successive stratigraphic levels might more appropriately explain the various facies of the Merensky Reef.

Multiple Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa

The Merensky Reef (MR) of the Bushveld Complex is known for containing the lion’s share of the world’s reserves of platinum group elements (PGE). It is commonly described as a single, relatively thin layer (or package) of chromite- and sulphide-bearing orthopyroxenite hosted by almost barren norite and/or anorthosite. Here, we present a drill-core section that contains; however, four separate MR orthopyroxenite layers hosted by mottled anorthosites. Each of these orthopyroxenites is distinguished through occurrence/absence of marginal chromitite seams, grain size, petrographic composition, and PGE abundance. We interpret them as multiple undercutting MR that occurs as sill-like apophyses extending laterally from a pothole margin into the footwall. The undercutting MR is attributed to in situ crystallization within sheet-like melt-filled cavities at potholes margins, which are produced through thermal and/or chemical erosion of the footwall rocks by replenishing magmas. This finding indicates that the MR-forming event involved several distinct pulses of replenishing magmas whose crystallization products were mostly eroded away in the stratiform portions, but remained locally preserved in apophyses within footwall rocks. The mineralized MR formed a few meters below a temporary chamber floor is indicative of strong thermal/compositional convection in the basal layer of the Bushveld’s chamber. The convection was able to deliver large volumes of fresh magma for the scavenging of PGE by sulphide and chromite growing within the sheet-like cavities of the MR potholes.

The mineralogy and mineral associations of platinum-group elements and precious metals in the Aurora Cu-Ni-Au-PGE deposit, Northern Limb, Bushveld Complex

Aurora is a platinum-group element (PGE) prospect hosted in the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa. It is one of only three deposits discovered in the Northern Limb so far to be hosted in the melanocratic-leucocratic gabbroic cumulates of the Main Zone of the Rustenberg Layered Suite (Aurora, Moorddrift and Waterberg T Zone deposits), rather than in predominantly ultramafic rocks (e.g. Platreef). The host cumulates at Aurora have been divided into three principal units and they intrude the dolomites of the lower Transvaal Supergroup. Base metal sulphide (BMS) mineralisation with PGE is present in the leucogabbronorites and gabbronorites of Unit 2, and in coarse grained gabbronorite veins which intrude the peridotites of Unit 1. These veins contain up to 50% interstitial pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite ± pyrite. Unit 2 contains 1–3% pentlandite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite assemblages, and 1–5% chalcopyrite ± pyrite/pyrrhotite associated with hydrothermal alteration. The PGE content of Aurora however is predominantly controlled by the presence of platinum-group minerals (PGM), not BMS. LA-ICP-MS analysis of sulphides shows the BMS in Aurora have lower PGE concentrations than other Bushveld magmatic sulphides, with pentlandite carrying much lower concentrations of Pd (average 23 ppm) than the Platreef or the Merensky Reef. SEM-EDS analysis of 26 sections characterised 995 platinum-group minerals (PGM) and precious metal-bearing minerals (PMM), with a total area of 27850 μm2 and an average size of 28.2 μm2. Of the PGM and PMM identified in Aurora 85% (by area) are Pd-Te-Bi minerals, with 6% Pd-Te minerals, 4% electrum and 3% Ag-Te minerals, along with minor Pd-Bi, Pd-As, Pt-Te-Bi, Pt-As and Pt-S minerals that collectively comprise 2% of total area. Only 25% of the PGM and PMM in Aurora are BMS hosted, with the rest hosted in silicates. Of the total PGM and PMM area 22% are hosted in alteration-silicates (quartz, chlorite or actinolite) in an alteration halo around sulphides. Unusually, 52% of the PGM and PMM are spatially removed from BMS, instead hosted in alteration silicates and within cracks in primary silicates away from any BMS. This indicates a multi-stage ore genesis model, with hydrothermal remobilisation of PGE important for ore formation. The style and host rocks for mineralisation in the Aurora deposit are fundamentally different from other deposits in the Northern Limb of the Bushveld hosted in ultramafic rocks, such as the Platreef, GNPA member deposits and the F zone of the Waterberg deposit, all of which contain a greater diversity of PGM and BMS with higher precious metal contents. The mineralisation most similar to Aurora is the T Zone of the Waterberg deposit, located to the north of Aurora, which been suggested to be an along-strike equivalent of the Aurora Main Zone mineralisation. However, despite strong similarities in PGM mineralogy and S isotope signatures there are significant differences in BMS mineralisation and host lithology meaning it is unlikely they are directly linked stratigraphically. At present it seems more likely that Aurora and the Waterberg T Zone reflect similar fluid-influenced processes operating in different parts of the Main Zone, perhaps at different times and in different structural basins, rather than a continuous mineralised zone along strike.