Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Holwell, D. A. Articles by Armitage, P. E. B. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Platinum-group mineral assemblages in the Platreef at the Sandsloot Mine, northern Bushveld Complex, South Africa

¹ School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK
² Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime ME4 4TB, UK

^* E-mail: HolwellDA{at}cf.ac.uk

Platinum group mineral (PGM) assemblages in the Platreef at Sandsloot, northern Bushveld Complex, in a variety of lithologies reveal a complex multi-stage mineralization history. During crystallization of the Platreef pyroxenites, platinum group elements (PGE) and base-metal sulphides (BMS) were distributed thoughout the interstitial liquid forming a telluride-dominant assemblage devoid of PGE sulphides. Redistribution of PGE into the metamorphic footwall by hydrothermal fluids has formed arsenide-, alloy- and antimonide-dominant assemblages, indicating a significant volatile influence during crystallization. Serpentinization of the footwall has produced an antimonide-dominant PGM assemblage. Parts of the igneous reef were subjected to alteration by a late-stage, Fe-rich fluid, producing ultramafic zones where the telluride-dominant assemblage has been recrystallized to an alloy-dominant one, particularly rich in Pt-Fe and Pd-Pb alloys. A thin, small-volume zone of PGE-BMS mineralization along the base of the hangingwall contains a primary PGM assemblage that is locally altered to one dominated by Pt/Pd germanides. This is thought to have formed when the new pulse of Main Zone magma entered the chamber, and scavenged PGE from the underlying Platreef pyroxenites. That each major rock type at Sandsloot contains a distinctive PGM assemblage reflects the importance of syn- and post-emplacement fluid and magmatic processes on the development of Platreef mineralization.

KEYWORDS: PGM, Bushveld Complex, South Africa, Sandsloot mine, Platreef, Pt, Pd, base-metal sulphides

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R.J. Voordouw and N.J. Beukes Alteration and metasomatism of the UG2 melanorite and its stratiform pegmatoids, Bushveld Complex, South Africa -characteristics, timing and origins. South African Journal of Geology, March 1, 2009; 112(1): 47 - 64. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. Holwell, A. J. Boyce, and I. McDonald Sulfur Isotope Variations within the Platreef Ni-Cu-PGE Deposit: Genetic Implications for the Origin of Sulfide Mineralization Economic Geology, September 1, 2007; 102(6): 1091 - 1110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]