WHAT IS REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT
SOUTHERN AFRICA ?
• Contains rocks of many of the productive time periods on
Earth controlled by two major ancient (Archaean) cratons
• Contains two of the most productive giant layered intrusions
on Earth
a) Bushveld Complex - Pt, Tl, Cr, Ni, Sn, magnestite,
refractory minerals
b) Great Dyke – Cr, Pt, Ni
• Contains the unique Witwatersrand Basin (Au, U)
• Contains a variety of alkaline intrusions
a) Kimberlites – diamonds
b) Carbonatites – Cu, Fe, P, phosphate, vermiculite at
Phalabowra
WHY IS SOUTHERN AFRICA SO RICHLY ENDOWED ?
1. Geology records a very long history
a) Some of the oldest basement rocks on Earth (ca 3800 Ma)
b) Some of the oldest greenstone belts on Earth (ca 3500 Ma)
c) Some of the oldest well-preserved sedimentary basins on
Earth; e.g. Witwatersrand Basin at ca 2800 Ma
d) Most continuous Archaean-Early Proterozoic sedimentary
record on Earth
e) Some of the oldest Archaean-style subcontinental mantle
lithosphere on Earth
2. Late tectonic uplift and erosion
a) Exposes deeply buried mineral deposits
b) Causes dispersions of metals in streams and rivers
c) Creates diversity of mineral deposits at different levels of
Earths crust
PROSPECTIVITY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
1. Exceptionally well-endowed terranes
2. Very mature exploration terranes in general, particularly
Bushveld and Witwatersrand provinces
3. World-class technology to explore and mine at deep levels
4. Previous history of virtual restriction to major mining
companies
5. Opportunities for smaller to medium size vigorous exploration
companies (cf Australian and Canadian companies in 1990’s)
6. Potential for giant deposits of deposit styles that have not been
historically major producers
a) Nickel-PGE deposits of Noril’sk type
b) Magnetite-Cu-Au-REE-U deposits of Olympic Dam type
c) Anomalous deposits related to “b”
WHY NORIL’SK TYPE TARGETS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA ?
1. Norli’sk described by some as the most economic ore body
on Earth
a) 900 Mt at 2.7% Ni
b) PGE/Ni ratios 5 times greater than Sudbury
c) Copper more enriched than Sudbury
2. Correct tectonic environment in the Mesozoic in eastern
South Africa: large rift basalt province with subvolcanic
sills
3. Basalts include high-MgO varieties similar to Noril’sk
WHY NORIL’SK TYPE TARGETS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA ?
(Cont’d)
4. Mineralization at Insizwa, Transkei, similar to Noril’sk
a) Ni-Cu-Pd rich sulphide ore
b) Similar PGE minerals
c) Similar ilmenites and ferrochromites in the ore
5. Basaltic and gabbroic rocks show major Ni depletion as
at Noril’sk. Potentially giant Ni-sulphide ore bodies in
region
6. Insizwa is small: main ore bodies not yet discovered
WHY OLYMPIC DAM TYPE DEPOSITS IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA ?
1. Typically related to craton edges around Archaean
subcontinental mantle lithosphere: abundant in region
2. Probably related to alkaline intrusions: abundant in region
3. Phalabowra (Cu, Au, PGE) may be an example of a proximal
deposit
4. Vergenoeg (F, REE) may be an associated deposit style
5. Messina (Cu) and occurrences of mineralized breccias (Cu) at
Groothoek Zebadita may be related styles
6. Normally discovered after detailed multi-client aeromagnetic
and gravity surveys: Africa has many gaps in such information
