Upb and pbpb isotopic studies relating to the origin of. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free. The witwatersrand basin is approximatly 350 km long and 200 km wide. Its estimated that half of the worlds gold was mined from south africas golden arc. It holds the worlds largest known gold reserves and has produced over 1. Mar 15, 2001 read basininternal derivation of hydrocarbons in the witwatersrand basin, south africa.
The witwatersrand basin was formed in response to a series of crustal plate movements from the. The growth and concentration of uranium and titanium minerals. With over 120 years of exploitation in the goldfields and the decline of accessible highgrade reefs, inmine exploration and targeting of ore bodies has become driven by sedimentary process models of ore formation andor structural models of ore remobilisation and genesis. Here we present the results of an extensive geological study of witwatersrand rocks which show that the gold and associated uranium.
Pyrite zoning as a record of mineralization in the. The fossil gold placers of the witwatersrand pdf paperity. Pdf gold mineralization within the witwatersrand basin, south. Perhaps the best constrained is the witwatersrand basin, for which van niekerk and burger 34 have. Witwatersrand basin hartbeespoort, south africa atlas. The presence of redoxsensitive uraninite in the archean witwatersrand basin, south africa, has been cited as evidence for a reducing archean atmosphere. Report any fraud, corruption and unethical behaviour. The vredefort structure located in the center of the witwatersrand basin in south africa and the sudbury structure in canada are widely considered the two. Tectonosedimentary model for the central rand goldfield, witwatersrand basin, south africa. The witwatersrand basin of south africa is an elongate structure of archean.
Geological setting university of the witwatersrand. A major portion of this production is mined at depths exceeding 2500 m and deepest levels of mining are at. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the akas submission guide. The vredefort dome is located near the center of the witwatersrand basin, about 120 km southeast of johannesburg, south africa. Witwatersrand gold deposits, gold bulletin, 1978, pp. Witwatersrand basin hartbeespoort, south africa atlas obscura. If you do not see its contents the file may be temporarily unavailable at the journal website or you do not have a pdf plugin installed and enabled in your browser.
The witwatersrand is a 56kilometrelong 35 mi, northfacing scarp in south africa. Its origin is enigmatic, ranging from a major impact event to endogenous processes, either igneous or tectonic. The witwatersrand basin was formed in response to a series of crustal plate movements from the north and west in a foreland basin setting. A new study accepted for publication in chemical geology says deep saline groundwaters in south africas witwatersrand basin may have remained isolated for perhaps millions of years. Witwatersrand supergroup central rand group ventersdorptransvaal supergroup 3. Outside of the witwatersrand basin significant quantities of gold have been recovered from archaean greenstone belts of the 3500 to 2700 ma kaapvaal craton. In the witwatersrand basin of south africa, the worlds most important goldproducing region e. The gold mines in this area are situated around an ancient sea over 2700 million years old where rivers deposited their sediments in the form of sand and gravel which became the conglomerate containing the gold. The witwatersrand basin covers approximately 400 kilometers, some of which is subcrop of the witwatersrand supergroup sedimentary and subordinate volcanic sequences an. Hydrothermal gold mineralization in the witwatersrand basin nature. Witwatersrand basin is part of wikiproject geology, an attempt at creating a standardized, informative, comprehensive and easytouse geology resource. The witwatersrand basin is a largely underground geological formation which surfaces in the witwatersrand, south africa. Jan 30, 2015 however, it does show that hydrocarbon liquids may have played an important role in remobilizing uranium from detrital uraninite and concentrating it to potentially economic levels in the witwatersrand basin.
Detecting and characterising secondary minerals is necessary to the planning of remediation programmes. Discover witwatersrand basin in hartbeespoort, south africa. The witwatersrand rocks overlie rocks of the dominion reef system, underlie those of the ventersdorp system, and occur in an eastwest band. The clastic sediments were derived from a mountainous source to the northnortheast of the basin button, 1986. Neoarchaean tectonic history of the witwatersrand basin and ventersdorp supergroup.
Mineralogy and heavy metal content of secondary mineral salts. A contribution to recent debate concerning epigenetic. Pdf tectonosedimentary model for the central rand goldfield. The depositional facies grade from braided fluvial arkoses, through tidal flat sediments to mature sandy shelf deposits that consist primarily of shales and carbonate shales.
Even though the occurrence of rockbursts is one of the most serious hazards associated with underground. The witwatersrand basin is a largely underground geological formation. The formation of gold deposits in south africa 2017. A contribution to recent debate concerning epigenetic versus. Pyrite zoning as a record of mineralization in the ventersdorp contact reef, witwatersrand basin, south africa andrea agangi paleoproterozoic mineralization research group, department of geology, university of johannesburg, auckland park 2006, south africa. Metal distribution in pyrobitumen of the carbon leader reef. Michael meyer i department of geology, university of the witwatersrand, private bag 3, wits 2050, south africa received 19 december 1994. The growth and concentration of uranium and titanium. Schweitzer synopsis the approximately 2800 ma old ventersdorp contact reef is a unique witwatersrand orebody, from which about 6% of the worlds gold production is derived. This paper investigates the mineralogical and heavy metal contents of mineral salts associated with acid mine drainage in the east rand area of the witwatersrand basin. Geological framework and mineralization processes laurence j.
Witwatersrand basin, which contains nearly half the worlds gold, covers an area the size of west virginia in the northeastern part of south africa. A contribution to recent debate concerning epigenetic versus syngenetic mineralization processes in the witwatersrand basin l. Geotechnical areas associated with the ventersdorp contact. An investigation into the availability and role of oxygen gas. The witwatersrand basin in south africa has been the focus of gold. The witwatersrand basin near the centre of the kaapvaal craton fig. Download fulltext pdf goldbearing reefs of the witwatersrand basin. Pdf the worlds greatest deposit of gold is hosted by the archaean witwatersrand sedimentary basin. However, it does show that hydrocarbon liquids may have played an important role in remobilizing uranium from detrital uraninite and concentrating it to potentially economic levels in the witwatersrand basin. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit this article, or visit the project page for more information. The witwatersrand basin and its gold deposits springerlink. Alternatively, you can download the file locally and open with any standalone pdf reader.
Apr 20, 2017 at a first glance, the witwatersrand basin, the largest known gold resource on our planet, is not automatically related to ocean research. The witwatersrand plateau consists of a 5000to7000metre thick 3. Numerical analysis of historic gold production cycles and. The following are the supplementary data related to this article. Jun 01, 2001 read sequence stratigraphy of the vaal reef facies associations in the witwatersrand foredeep, south africa, sedimentary geology on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Downloaded from at university of edinburgh on march 19, 2012 geological society, london, special publications gold. In 1886, george harrison discovered gold in conglomerate on the northern slope of the witwatersrand range antrobus, 1986. The pdf file you selected should load here if your web browser has a pdf reader plugin installed for example, a recent version of adobe acrobat reader if you would like more information about how to print, save, and work with pdfs, highwire press provides a helpful frequently asked questions about pdfs. On imdb tv, you can catch hollywood hits and popular tv series at no cost.
The nature of a deformation zone and fault rock related to a. The witwatersrand basin in south africa is the largest goldfield in the world, with an estimated past production of 50,000 t of gold 40% of world production, and hosts a major uranium resource, with a past production of 1. Durrheim a,c a school of geosciences, university of the witwatersrand johannesburg, pbag 3, wits, 2050, republic of south africa. Mining activities in the witwatersrand basin have resulted in six billion tonnes of mine waste. The witwatersrand basin overlies a 3ga basement rock, and most of the basin is overlain by several hundred meters of fluvial deposits belonging to the sediments, coal seams, and flood basalts of the 290180ma karoo supergroup. It looks like we dont have any akas for this title yet. Davis discovered the first gold in the witwatersrand, leading to the south african gold rush and the discovery of much more gold deposits within the basin. A model of synsedimentation hydrothermal formation article pdf available in geology of ore deposits 486. Today, the 30742714 ma witwatersrand basin is amongst the beststudied of archaean sedimentary basins and constitutes the largest goldproducing region of the world.
The theory of an originally detrital origin of the witwaters rand deposits is now well supported by. Evaluating the structural character and tectonic history of. A case study from the witwatersrand gold basin, south africa. Witwatersrand system, major division of precambrian rocks in south africa the precambrian began about 3.
Sketch map of the main stratigraphic subdivisions in the witwatersrand basin. The evolution of oxygen levels in the archean atmosphere is one of the most important questions in the study of early earth environments. The witwatersrand basin in south africa is the largest gold province in the world. Sedimentary basin development in the archaean pdf free download. Neoarchaean tectonic history of the witwatersrand basin and. But starting in the 1960s, south africa began to construct its own nuclear weapons program.