Scale of hydrothermal circulation around the Bushveld Complex, South Africa

摘要

The Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa is the largest igneous complex in the world; if we superimpose its current outcrop pattern on a map of the UK it would cover much of southern England. The complex was emplaced into sedimentary rocks of the Transvaal Supergroup between about 2061 and 2054 Ma ago. A question recently addressed in a paper published by James Gleason and colleagues (The Journal of Geology, 2011, v.119, pp.69-80) is what was the extent of hydrothermal circulation and associated mineralisation as a result of the emplacement of the Bushveld Igneous Complex?