https://www.miningweekly.com
Africa|Consulting|Cutting|Energy|Exploration|Flow|Gold|Mining|Flow
Africa|Consulting|Cutting|Energy|Exploration|Flow|Gold|Mining|Flow
africa|consulting-company|cutting|energy|exploration|flow-company|gold|mining|flow-industry-term

Regional fluid flow model developed for a section of the Barberton Greenstone Belt

14th March 2022

By: Darren Parker

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

A comprehensive and holistic model has been developed for the regional fluid flow patterns within the Sheba-Fairview complex, in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, in Mpumalanga, which also shows how these fluids are tapped and channelled into the localised ore bodies, geological consulting firm Tect Geological Consulting geoscientist Caitlin Jones said in a webinar on March 11.

She said the mineralisation within the Sheba-Fairview complex could be explained by the temporal and spatial coincidence of the well-bedded metasedimentary sequence, which underwent, firstly, folding and subsequent refolding during late-stage northwest-southeast shortening.

She said these refolding processes were associated with flexural slip along the bedding plains and they have been accommodated by bedding-parallel, regionally pervasive fluid infiltration, which was subsequently focused into either soft-cutting brittle fracture networks or jog geometries during the fold tightening.

“While we try to constrain the relative late time of the gold mineralisation to during the refolding, there are still uncertainties regarding, firstly, the exact timing of the gold mineralisation and, secondly, also the tectonic regimes in which it forms,” Jones said.

She said there were also some remaining uncertainties regarding the fluid sources responsible for the mineralisation.

The webinar, presented by Jones, was titled ‘Structural setting and alteration of the Barberton gold deposits’ and forms part of a series of webinars being hosted by geologist group Overberg Geoscientists Group (OGG) in conjunction with nonprofit organisation the Geological Society of South Africa on the alteration and interplay with fluids, structure and Archean gold mineralisation.

“The last half-century has seen a massive shift in geological thinking with respect to alteration and its relationships to fluids, structure and metamorphism. No longer is crustal fluid flow envisaged as being up and down open cracks, nor is structural geology simply the measuring of fault displacement,” the OGG said.

Rather, the OGG believes alteration was an integral part of much ore formation and that metamorphism goes well beyond the estimation of pressure or temperature.

“Mineralogy and whole rock geochemistry become intertwined and influence how rocks deform. Linking all these fields are heat energy, fluids and deformation. Successful exploration and mining are the goals of the improved scientific understanding,” the OGG concluded.

The next webinar in the series will be on March 17 at 10:30, where Stellenbosch University's Professor Alex Kisters will present 'Barberton gold deposits as examples of the interplay of structure and alteration'.

All the free-to-attend webinars can be accessed at this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82093178839?pwd=dWs1c2k2RkFuTS9CM2VtZ0lsUHdndz09

For additional information on the webinar series, contact John Bristow at jwbdia@gmail.com or Hennie Greeff at hennie.greeff@gmail.com.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Hanna Instruments Image
Hanna Instruments (Pty) Ltd

We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.127 0.161s - 90pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now