International Journal of Coal Geology, 12 (1989) 365-380 365

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

Paleodepositional environments and tectono-

sedimentary controls of the postglacial Permian
coals, Karoo Basin, South Africa

B. CAIRNCROSS*
Department of Geology, University of the Witwatersrand, P 0 Wits, 2050 Johannesburg, South
Africa
(Received February 17, 1988; revised and accepted August 25, 1988)

ABSTRACT

Cairncross, B., 1989. Paleodepositional environments and tectono-sedimentary controls of the

postglacial Permian coals, Karoo Basin, South Africa. In: P.C. Lyons and B. Alpern (Editors),
Peat and Coal: Origin, Facies, and Depositional Models. Int. J. Coal Geol., 12: 365-380.

Coal deposits of the Karoo Basin in South Africa are contained within an 80-250-m-thick
clastic sequence designated the Vryheid Formation. This formation constitutes part of the Ecca
Group of the Karoo Sequence and contains several mineable bituminous coal and anthracite beds
and sporadic coking coal seams.
The sedimentary succession was deposited during the Early Permian following the Late Car-
boniferous Dwyka ice age. Paleoclimate initially influenced the paleodepositional environments
which, for the lowermost stages, comprised glaciofluvial outwash braided-plain deposits overlying
minor deltaic and glaciolacustrine fill. The Early Permian floral assemblages attest to a cool,
temperate climatic regime. In the extreme northern parts of the basin, the lowermost coals frequently
directly overlie Dwyka diamictite or pre-Karoo basement. Paleodepositional systems associated
with the coals above the glaciogenic succession consisted predominantly of regressive fluviodeltaic
facies assemblages. In the northern regions, regressive deltaic lobes prograded rapidly basinward
across the relatively shallow intracratonic platform. In the northeast areas, greater subsidence
rates were accompanied by multiple stacking of regressive deltaic cycles. In several areas of the
coalfields, peat accumulation was associated with bed-load (braided) fluvial systems. These sub-
sequently modified the underlying deltaic deposits by intense and deep erosion that removed por-
tions of the underlying stratigraphy. Smaller-scale, syndepositional anastomosed rivers, which
were contemporaneous with certain peat swamps, locally controlled seam distribution and ad-
versely affected coal-seam quality.
Coal distribution was directly controlled by: (a) the tectonic setting; (b) the nature of the pre-
Karoo basement lithologies; (c) the basement paleotopography; and (d) the paleodepositional
systems associated with and following peat formation. The coalfields are restricted to a relatively
small area in the northern and northeastern parts of the Karoo Basin where a stable intracratonic
shelf provided a suitable tectonic setting for peat accumulation. Resistant basement lithologies

*Present address: Economic Geology Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, P O Wits,
2050 Johannesburg, South Africa.

0166-5162/89/$03.50 © 1989 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

366

(orthoquartzite and felsite ) produced positive topographic relief, while easily weathered, Archean
granite basement terrain left residual topographic depressions that were later extensively filled by
sediment. Differential compaction of fine sediment (mud and silt} deposited over the diverse
basement topography provided further subtle controls on coal-seam thickness. Sediments and coal
overlying basement highs compacted significantly causing thinning and a draping effect of the
sedimentary cover. In contrast, paleovaUeys contained substantial thicknesses of sediment and
host some of the thickest seams. These coals can, however, thin and shale-out against the adjacent
elevated valley flanks. The paleovalley coals were further affected by multiple seam splits produced
by fluvial channels that contemporaneously occupied the lowland areas.

INTRODUCTION

The Karoo basin of South Africa (Fig. 1 ) contains the most complete assem-
blage of upper Paleozoic strata in the subcontinent (Tankard et al., 1982 ). Coal
deposits are present in the northern portion of the basin where, during the
Early Permian, a relatively stable cratonic platform provided suitable tectonic
conditions for the accumulation of extensive peat deposits. The coal seams are
contained within a clastic sequence designated the Vryheid Formation that
constitutes part of the Ecca Group of the Karoo Sequence {Fig. 2). The coals
are closely associated with coarse-grained sandstones and conglomeratic sand-

~, ~ -..~y-~ ~ .::.. ,
~ZIM B A BW E )

-' .o,~w~.~ ~ ~oz~

NAMIBIA ~ :: ."

b~\\
I ) t-\__., Hidd
_~ . Johannesbuf
SOUTH
N
~!ii~~-- ''~''*'°',~~ji!~
'~' '":~ :"~::::::~:'~
~~

.32°S
~~i,,,~,,,,~,~,~,,~
~iiii!~*:,~ii!iiiiiiii~/ i;~
Cop, To r "~ ? 'f° 't° ff~
J
Fig. 1. The distribution of t h e K a r o o S e q u e n c e in s o u t h e r n A f r i c a (stippled). T h e m a i n coalfields
of t h e K a r o o B a s i n are present in the northern basin regions (arrow).
 367

PERIOD AGE KAROO SEOUENCE

TATARIAN BEAUFORT
GROUP

KAZANIAN I-----~----~-'~.__.

KUNGURIAN . . . . . . VOLKSRUST
PERMIAN
~------- - FORMATION

ECEA
ARTINSKIAN ::::i:~i:i:!:i:!:i VRYNEID
GROUP
ii FORMATION

PIETERMARITZ -
SAKMARIAN . . . . . . BURG
- __-__-_ FORMATION

~ ~ OWYKA FM.

Fig. 2. Generalizedstratigraphyand agesofthe KarooSequencein the KarooBasin.AfterHobday

(1986).

stones, which are of glaciogenic origin in the lower parts of the coal-bearing
succession.
Several coalfields have been geographically defined in the northern and
northeastern parts of the Karoo basin {Fig. 3). Smith and Whittaker (1986)
have calculated that the coalfields illustrated in Figure 3 contain about half
(50.8%) of South Africa's mineable in situ coal resources. As such, they rep-
resent significant reserves for the local as well as the export market. In 1986,
South Africa produced 177 million tons of which 45 million tons were exported
(McCloskey and Randle, 1987 ) and the remainder was consumed in electricity
generation and oil-from-coal conversion plants.
Most of the sedimentological studies conducted in the Orange Free State
(O.F.S.), Witbank, Highveld and Eastern Transvaal coalfields (Fig. 3) have
been based primarily on borehole data (Cairncross, 1979, 1986; Le Blanc Smith,
1980; Van Vuuren, 1981; Winter, 1985). In contrast, the Natal coalfields occur
in deeply dissected terrains that provide excellent outcrop (Tavener-Smith,
1979; Christie, 1984; Roberts, 1986).
The sediments of the Vryheid Formation were deposited by fluviodeltaic
systems that prograded south and southwest and had source areas to the north
and east of the present-day basin margin. The fluviodeltaic model for these
sediments (Hobday, 1973) was first formulated in the Natal region. With the
advent of later studies in the Transvaal and adjacent coalfields, the model
became refined into greater paleoenvironmental detail, including the interpre-
368

~/itbank~ l l , ~

!~::)/SWAZI-: I "I , i

EXPLANATION
t~ Karoo Sequence
I Coalfields

I = Orange Free State Coa[fietds {O.F.S.)

2 = Wifbank Eoatfield ---'~
3 Highveld Coalfield /djL TRANSVAAL
L Eastern Transvaal Coaifie COALFIELDS
5 = Natal Coalfields

Fig. 3. Distribution of the coalfields in the northern part of the Karoo Basin.

tation of beach-barrier deposits (Vos and Hobday, 1977; Tavener-Smith, 1982),

bed-load (braided) fluvial deposits (Cairncross, 1979; Le Blanc Smith, 1980;
Winter, 1985 ), fine- and coarse-grained anastomosed river deposits (Le Blanc
Smith and Eriksson, 1979; Cairncross, 1980) and high-constructive, lobate
deltaic complexes (Cairncross and Winter, 1984). It was this array of paleo-
depositional environments, and paleotopographic relief, paleoclimate and tec-
tonic setting which controlled the distribution and quality of the coal seams.

STRATIGRAPHY

The coal seams in the northern Karoo basin are contained in the Vryheid
Formation (Fig. 2 ). In the Transvaal region, five mineable bituminous seams
occur within a sedimentary package seldom exceeding 200 m (Le Blanc Smith,
1980; Winter, 1985 ). In some areas close to the basin margin, the stratigraphic
column is reduced to 80 m, but still contains all five seams (Cairncross, 1986 ).
In the Natal coalfields, up to eight coal seams are present and these are in-
terbedded with a thicker sedimentary unit than the corresponding O,F.S. and
Transvaal coal-bearing sequences. A composite stratigraphic column from the
 369

Witbank and Highveld coalfields shows the seams, numbered from No. 1 at
the base to No. 5 at the top, associated with sandstone and conglomerate and
minor shale and siltstone (Fig. 4).
Stratigraphic continuity of seams and sedimentary sequences was disrupted
by postdepositional erosion of channels (e.g., No. 3 coal seam, Fig. 4). Fur-
thermore, the pre-Karoo basement was undulatory, and paleohighs projected
up, in places, through the entire succession as shown in Figure 4. The coal
seams that occur in the O.F.S. and Natal regions are thought to be correlative
with the Transvaal deposits (Cadle, 1982, fig. 10), although Tavener-Smith
(1983) contests this interpretation. From the similarity of the sedimentary
sequences, that is, association of fluviodeltaic cycles with the coal seams in all
of the northern Karoo basin coalfields, it appears likely that there was some
overall degree of synchroneity in the coal-bearing cycles. The lower seams ( No.
1 and No. 2 seams) are known to pinchout basinward and the No. 3, No. 4 and
No. 5 seams are, therefore, probably correlative with the A, B and C seams in

EXPLANATION

Overburden
F
2 Coal Seam number
5
* GIauconife

Erosional base

\\\ Planar cross-bedded

Max. 4 Trough cross-bedded

200m
Thick 3 Cross-laminated

U Bioturbafion

I Coal

Sandstone: coarse
to cong[omerafic
Sandsfone: fine
fo medium
2
Shale/siltstone
1 Dwyka formation
Diamictife
i*~-**J Pre-Karoo Basement

Fig. 4. Composite stratigraphic column for the Transvaal coalfields (see Fig. 3 for locality). Note
that the entire succession can pinch-out against elevated basement highs.
370

the eastern Transvaal field, and with the Eland, Alfred and Gus seams of the
Natal coalfields.

TECTONIC SETTINGS

Three basin types are associated with Gondwanan coal basins: foredeeps,
rifts and intracratonic sags (Hobday, 1986). Many northern hemisphere Car-
boniferous coals formed in rapidly subsiding foredeep basins as did some of the
Permian Australian coal basins. Some southern African coals occur in rifted
basin settings (for example, in Malawi and Mozambique), but the Karoo basin
was an intracratonic, asymmetric depository with a foredeep centered on the
southern Cape Province (Fig. 5). With the exception of the Triassic Molteno
coalfield that received fluvial sediment from the south (Christie, 1986), coals
in the basin are confined to the stable, passive northern platform of the Ka-
apvaal craton (Tankard et al., 1982 ). Variably resistant basement lithologies
had an important control on determining paleotopography which, in turn, in-
fluenced sediment dispersal patterns and, ultimately, sites of peat accumula-

[ I I
16° E 2z,,QE 32° E

~NAMIBIA I , /'~"

- - ~ I, /WtbanW ~ " . J

•.., J ...... "Y

[ape T o ~
\\

. . . . Om

" - - - - 1000 m

B e a u f o r t Group & I Coat-bearing facies

Younger
Ecca Group ~ Dwyka formation
Fig. 5. Cross-section through the Karoo Basin from the stable, northern platform to the southern
foredeep.
 371

tion. For example, orthoquartzite of the late Archean Witwatersrand Super-

group (underlying parts of the O.F.S. coalfield) and felsite of the Proterozoic
Bushveld Complex (in the Witbank coalfield) formed positive ridges and es-
carpments during sedimentation. Their positive relief resulted in either re-
duced thicknesses or no Ecca strata overlying them. In contrast, the Archean
granite terrain underlying the eastern Transvaal coalfield was easily weath-
ered and provided topographically depressed areas that became in filled by sed-
iment (N. Stavrakis, pets. commun., 1987). Stuart-Williams (1986) further
describes abnormally thick coals filling karst topography in underlying early
Proterozoic dolomite in an area of the Syferfontein colliery.
Rate of subsidence was greater in the eastern Natal coalfield than in the
corresponding northern or western Transvaal and O.F.S. coalfields. Greater
burial rates would, therefore, have dampened the influence of basement topog-
raphy. A greater degree of tectonic subsidence (and concomittant heating) is
evidenced in the reduced lateral persistence of many coal seams in Natal and
in the degree of maturity of the seams. Paleogeothermal gradients were higher
in the eastern areas producing a higher degree of organic maturity (rank) in
the seams. This trend accompanies a thickening of the Vryheid Formation to
the east (Fig. 6) where, in some localities, faulted rift basins occur (Whateley,
1980). An additional factor accounting for local variations in rank in Natal are

Fig. 6. Isopachous map of the Vryheid Formation. The succession thickens towards the east and
thins and shales-out towards the southwest. After Cadle (1982).
372

Jurassic dolerite intrusions that metamorphosed coal seams and produced

anthracite.

PALEODEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS

A high-latitude position of southern Africa during the Early Permian pro-

duced cool-temperate conditions that are reflected in the lowermost portions
of the coal-bearing sedimentary sequence. The deposition of the Ecca Group
was preceded by the Carboniferous Dwyka ice age, a period during which large
parts of the hinterland were covered by continental ice (Tankard et al., 1982).
Climatic amelioration during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian was
accompanied by glacial thawing and retreat to the north and northeast of the
present-day Karoo basin coalfields (Stratten, 1968; Crowell and Frakes, 1975 ).
It was these ice sheets and glaciers which sculptured the rugged basement to-
pography prior to the deposition of the Ecca sediments. Glacial retreat, which
may have been pulsatory and not a single withdrawal (Falcon, 1986 ), produced
meltwater discharge that reworked unconsolidated till and introduced coarse,
gravelly detritus into the Transvaal coalfield areas. Protected embayments in
the basement escaped this glaciofluvial influx. Rhythmites (varved lacustrine
shales) and restricted deltaic sequences capped by stringer coals occur as gla-
ciolacustrine fill in some paleotopographic lows in the Witbank and Highveld
coalfields (Le Blanc Smith, 1980; Winter, 1985). Vegetation became estab-
lished during these Early Permian depositional episodes and consisted of a
diversified Glossopteris-Gangamopterisflora that constituted the vegetation of
the coal swamps (Falcon, 1986).
Glaciogenic conditions prevailed during the early stages of the Vryheid For-
mation which caused in filling of paleovalleys by glaciofluvial braided alluvium.
As the ice sheets retreated further northward, clastic influx waned and the
juvenile swamp flora began to encroach over and envelop the underlying clastic
sediment. In some instances (Winter, 1985), glaciofluviat channels continued
to provide drainage to the swamps resulting in a vertical continuum of coarse
sand and gravel into the overlying peat. Braided (bed-load), low-sinuosity flu-
vial systems became confined by the resilient peat and these bifurcated bas-
inward into a network of anastomosed channels (Le Blanc Smith and Eriks-
son, 1979; Cairncross, 1980). These were to have an important adverse effect
on the associated coal distribution and quality. These channels were particu-
larly prevelant in the Witbank and Highveld No. 2 coal seams, but also existed
during No. 4 seam peat accumulation (Winter, 1985). Anastomosed channels
have not been reported from the Natal or O.F.S. coal seams. Peat-swamp flora
proliferated and finally covered most of the low-lying, northern Karoo basin
region.
Basin subsidence finally exceeded peat accumulation and No. 2 coal seam is
overlain by an extensive transgressive sequence. An upward-coarsening se~
 373

quence characterizes the interval between No. 2 and No. 3 seams {Fig. 4) and
correlative seams in adjacent coalfields. This resulted from regressive deltaic
sedimentation. On the stable northern platform, a single progradational se-
quence was deposited. In the eastern Transvaal and Natal coalfields, particu-
larly the latter where greater subsidence was occurring, several stacked regres-
sive deltaic cycles are present, each of which, in places, is terminated by a coal
seam (Greenshields, 1986; Bell and Spurr, 1986). This deltaic episode was,
therefore, basinwide and contains extensive stratigraphic markers in the form
of bioturbated units in the lower prodeltaic sequences (Stanistreet et al., 1980 ).
The two remaining coal seams above the No. 3 seam are associated with
further deltaic sequences. These resulted from constructive, lobate deltaic pro-
gradation into relatively shallow water depths (Cairncross and Winter, 1984 ).
Vertical facies sequences resemble Gilbertian-type deltas (Gilbert, 1885; Stan-
ley and Surdam, 1978), capped by coal. Glauconitic siltstone and cross-lami-
nated sandstone at the base of these units indicate the possibility of marine
transgression prior to the onset of deltaic progradation (Cairncross, 1979; Le
Blanc Smith, 1980). Trace-fossil assemblages of interpreted marine affinities
{for example, Rhizocorallium, Skolithos, Cruziana and others ) provide further
evidence for marine conditions during the formation of these strata (Stanis-
treet et al., 1980). In several areas, the deltaic deposits have been removed by
erosion caused by postdepositional fluvial scouring (Fig. 4 ). Low-sinuosity bed-
load channels typified these fluvial sequences (Cairncross, 1986) while some
meandering tracts did exist to the south of the Witbank and Highveld coal-
fields braided-plain (Hagelskamp, 1987 ). The O.F.S. coals are associated with
regressive deltaic cycles from which crevasse splays and wave-dominated sub-
sequences have been recognized (Gilligan, 1986). The main coal-bearing se-
quence of the Vryheid coalfield in Natal comprises several stacked, fining-
upward fluvial cycles underlain and overlain by barren, delta-dominated se-
quences (Bell and Spurr, 1986, fig. 3).
Detailed descriptions of widespread shoreline sequences fronting the flu-
viodeltaic plain to the south are relatively uncommon. This may be due in part
to the deepening of the basin and shale-out of the Vryheid Formation in this
direction (Fig. 6). As a result, limited borehole information is available. How-
ever, in areas of restricted outcrop, Vos and Hobday (1977) have described
storm-beach deposits from the O.F.S., and prograding shoreline sequences have
been described from the Vryheid Formation to the south of the Natal coalfields
(Tavener-Smith, 1982 ).

TECTONO-SEDIMENTARY CONTROLS ON COAL DISTRIBUTION AND QUALITY

Detailed three-dimensional facies modelling of data derived from several

thousand drill holes has facilitated paleoenvironmental reconstruction and an
understanding of tectonic and sedimentary controls on coal occurrences
:~74

(Cairncross, 1979, 1980, 1986; Le Blanc Smith and Eriksson, 1979; Le Blanc
Smith, 1980; Van Vuuren, 1981; Roberts, 1986). Apart from the overriding
tectonic control, that is, the stable intracratonic margin of the northern Karoo
Basin, the configuration, topography and lithological diversity of the pre-Ka-
roe basement was the main overall controlling factor of sediment and peat
distribution. This is particularly relevant in the O.F.S. and Transvaal coal-
fields (Fig. 3 ), but is of lesser importance in the Natal region.
The paleotopography exercised direct control by initially confining deposi-
tion within paleovalleys. These were sites of widespread peat accumulation
which overlay mud, silt and sand of the preceding glaciogenic sequences. The
underlying fine sediments were differentially compacted due to loading, thereby
providing favourable sites for thick peat (coal seam) formation. Conversely,
the seams pinchout against valley margins and are either thin or not present
over prominent basement highs (Fig. 7). In the Witbank and Highveld coal-
fields (Le Blanc Smith, 1980; Winter, 1985), paleotopographic highs directly
controlled peat accumulation of the lowermost seams. These elevated areas
were characterized by aerobic conditions that prevented peat preservation. The
adjacent paleovalleys contain the thickest coal seams that occur in the lower

+ + ' ~ ~ ~ ~ * ÷ * + + + + + ÷ + + + + ~ £~

EXPLANATION
X [ontro[ point ~ Sandstone ~J Pre-Karoo Basement

Siltstone ~ Oiamictite
:I 0 5'00 10'00
meters

Fig. 7. The effect of pre-Karoo basement paleotopographic highs. Note (a) the shale-out of No. 2
seam coat over the basement ridge, (b) the thicker coal in the adjacent paJeovattey, and (c) the
thinning of the sequenceand No. 4 coal seam due to differentia] compaction above the basement
high. After W i n t e r (1985).
 375

portions of the Vryheid Formation. However, superimposed on the favourable

basement paleolow sites, were syn- and postdepositional bed-load fluvial sys-
tems that flowed from the northern source terrain, down the paleovalleys,
transporting sediment into the basin (Winter, 1985, fig. 66). Compaction ef-
fects on the channel-fill sandstones were negligible and the coal overlying these
clastics is often thinner than those seams overlying floodplain deposits. The
coals (No. 1 and No. 2 seams) were partially or wholly removed by postdepo-
sitional channel erosion. Seam-splitting also occurs due to lateral stacking of
channel-fill sequences enclosed by the coal, and due to minor overbank
crevassing.
Roberts (1986) states that the appreciable basement relief in the Transvaal
coalfields could have produced microclimatic controls; sheltered lowland re-
gions may have protected swamp flora from the postglacial elements that pre-
vailed at the time. In more distal localities (Natal), peat deposition took place
on widespread sedimentary platforms and was, therefore, exposed to greater
climatic and hydrological constraints. The noticeable paleotopographic relief
in the O.F.S., Witbank and Highveld coalfields was, in places, an important
factor throughout the deposition of the entire Vryheid Formation, albeit to a
steadily diminishing degree towards the uppermost strata. For example, Win-
ter (1986; fig. 89) illustrates the pinch-out of the uppermost No. 5 coal seam,
and the sediments above, against pinnacle-like basement highs.
In proximal basin settings south of Witbank (Fig. 3), the braided-channels
were large trunk streams over 10 km in width and with width: depth ratios in
excess of 500:1 (Cairncross, 1986). On the basis of the thickness of the paleo-
channel sandstone, channel depths are calculated at between 5 m and 20 m.
As these drained the swamps, the channels bifurcated in the direction of the
paleoslope into a network of bank-stabilized anastomosed channels (Cairn-
cross, 1979; Le Blanc Smith and Eriksson, 1979). These streams deposited silt
and mud as well as coarse sand and gravel. The anastomosed channels deposits
contained within No. 2 coal seam now pose some of the severest underground
mining and quality problems. These (a) removed coal by scouring, (b) cause
loss of tonnages along channel flanks where the seam is multiply split and
interfingers with channel clastics, (c) have thin coal which overlies and, there-
fore, parallels abandoned channel-fill sequences (caused by loading and dif-
ferential compaction of the coal over the essentially noncompactable sand-
stone), and (d) downgrade coal quality. Clastic-contaminated, high-ash coal
areas are up to 4 km wide, and these parallel the paleochannel margins. In
some localities, coal overlying the elevated abandoned paleochannels can be
higher in ash than stratigraphic equivalent parts of the seam in adjacent areas
(Cairncross, 1980). This resulted from partial aerobic oxidation of the peat
resulting in a residual concentration of inherent ash. The remaining Transvaal
coals (No. 4 and 5 seams, Fig. 4) were deposited on the abandoned surfaces of
the submerged delta lobes. These seams are, therefore, laterally extensive and
:~76

correlative into adjacent coalfields. Postdepositional channel scouring and

subsequent deposition modified these sequences and, in places, removed not
only the coal below but the entire underlying clastic sequences (Fig. 4).
Subtle variations in coal-seam thicknesses were induced by differential com-
paction. Where seams overlie basement paleohighs with little or no interven-
ing strata, loading effects caused compaction and thinning of the coal above
the incompactible basement. Seams thin over sandstone channel-fill for sim-
ilar reasons (e.g., Winter, 1985, fig. 81 ). Negative topographic elevations were,
however, sites of differential compaction. The argillaceous sediment infilling
these depressions compacted substantially, thereby providing favourable sites
for peat accumulation.
A feature of some of the Vryheid Formation coal seams, and those of similar
age in other southern African localities is that the earliest formed coals are
generally the thickest, (Cairncross, 1987). This corresponds to the glaciogenic
period that followed the Dwyka ice age. The thicker seams occur in a variety
of tectonic settings including stable, intracratonic (Witbank, Highveld); rifted
grabens (Moatize, Mozambique); and marginal rift basins (Wankie, Zim-
babwe). Tectonism alone was not the overriding control on the formation of
thick ( > 5 m) coal seams. Falcon et al. (1984) have determined that the low-
ermost seams in the Witbank coalfield formed during the coldest climatic re-
gime, in close association with the retreating glaciers. Bacterial and microbial
activity may have been suppressed by the colder temperatures and destruction
of peat was not intense; hence, thicker coal-seam formation. In addition, melt-
water discharge probably promoted a high water table that would, in turn, have
maintained the swamps and enhanced peat preservation. Quality trends in
many of the Permian seams tend to follow a pattern such as in the Witbank
No. 2 seam (Cairncross, 1986, fig. 79) and the No. 4 and No. 5 seams (Le Blanc
Smith, 1980). There is an overall vertical coal-seam quality deterioration (in-
creasing ash and decreasing volatile matter and calorific value) from the bot-
tom to the top of the seams. The basal portion of seams are typically bright,
vitrinite-rich coal that grades upwards into duller inertinite-rich coal (Cairn-
cross and Cadle, 1988), which may indicate a greater degree of exposure and
oxidation upward in seams. These trends are found in the Witbank basin, the
Main Seam at Wankie, Zimbabwe (Duguid, 1986) and Kandabwe in Zambia
(Tavener-Smith, 1960). These trends are concordant with transgression to-
wards the close of the peat-forming periods as clastic sediment is gradually
introduced into the peat swamp. Suspended sediment carried by the trans-
gressing basinal waters can, therefore, account for the progressive increase in
the ash content within these coals. There is a regular progression in the ratio
of inorganic material to peat towards the transgressing shoreline (i.e., basin-
ward shale-out), and upwards within the peat, until the point of total trans-
gressive inundation.
 377

CONCLUSIONS

The sediments that filled the Karoo Basin of South Africa now cover over
half of the surface area of the country. This vast epicratonic basin filling belies
the basin's potential coal resources. All of the economic seams are confined to
specific geographic localities and occur within a restricted stratigraphic inter-
val. This limited geographical and geological distribution of the coal-bearing
succession stems primarily from the regional controls on coal formation and
distribution. These were: (a) the intracratonic setting, (b) the paleotopogra-
phy of the basement beneath the coal sequence, and (c) the paleodepositional
environments that were governed by tectonic and paleoclimatic factors. Al-
though the asymmetrical basin extended over 1500 km along its longest axis,
coal occurs only on the northern stable cratonic platform. Near the basin mar-
gin in the O.F.S. and Transvaal coalfields, the lowermost seams locally rest
directly on the basement, or otherwise overlie glacial moraine and/or glacio-
fluvial outwash deposits. Further basinward to the south and in the Natal coal-
fields, the Vryheid Formation conformably overlies distal and prodeltaic shales
(Pietermaritzburg Formation, Fig. 2) which, in turn, overlie the glaciogenic
deposits.
Paleotopography directly controlled sedimentation patterns particularly in
the O.F.S. and Transvaal coalfields. Sediment initially infilled paleovalleys
that had been scoured by glacial action during the preceding Permo-Carboni-
ferous Dwyka ice age, and the thickest, lowermost coals are located within
these paleosites. These coals thin and pinch-out against relatively steep-sided
valley flanks; directly above pronounced basement paleohighs, coal and asso-
ciated strata become attenuated or may be totally absent due to nondeposition.
In some localities such as in the Highveld coalfield, the paleotopographic relief
was so severe that the total coal-bearing Vryheid Formation is accommodated
in paleovalleys leaving prominent basement highs projecting through the en-
tire sequence. In the northeastern part of the Natal coalfield region, the coal-
bearing sequence overlies substantial thicknesses of glacial moraine and pro-
deltaic shales. The effect of basement paleotopography in these areas was
therefore dampened by this underlying sedimentary cover. Tectonic subsid-
ence was, however, greater in the Natal region than in the O.F.S. and Trans-
vaal regions and, as a result, the sedimentary sequence is considerably thicker.
Coals are associated with a variety of paleodepositional systems, and the
earliest formed seams overlie abandoned glaciogenic deposits. The coals above
occur in association with lobate deltaic and bed-load fluvial sequences. The
former prograded rapidly across the shallow platform while syn- and postpa-
leodepositional fluvial systems eroded and removed underlying peat and del-
taic sediments. Other sedimentary environments associated with coal forma-
tion were shoreline sequences that fronted the fluviodeltaic plains, transgressive
378

glauconite deposits that overlie coal seams, and fine-grained and coarse-grained
anastomosed river deposits. The latter were contemporaneous with peat fbr-
marion and abandoned paleochannel conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone,
all having a negative effect on coal distribution and quality.
Differential compaction of underlying sediments modified seam thicknesses
for example: (a) paleolows contained mud and silt which greatly compacted
and resulted in thicker overlying seams and ( b ) conversely, coal overlying non-
compactable basement highs and paleochannel sandstones is relatively thin-
ner above these features.
The high-latitude paleogeographic setting of the subcontinent during the
Permian produced pronounced paleoclimatic influences on sedimentation and
swamp vegetation. The lowermost sediments record deglaciation episodes with
ice-sheet withdrawal to the north and east of the coalfields. Cold-temperate
floral assemblages of the lowermost peat (coal) swamps, and the overall vari-
ation in the coal grade and coal type compared with the northern hemisphere
Carboniferous coals, further reflect markedly different paleogeographic and
paleoclimatic regimes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I t h a n k Carol Beadle for typing the manuscript and Dianne du Toit for pro-
viding drafting services.

REFERENCES

Bell, K. and Spurr, M.R., 1986. The VryheidCoalfieldof northern Natal. In: C.R. Anhaeusserand
S. Maske (Editors), Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin
House, Johannesburg, pp. 2023-2032.
Cadle, A.B., 1982. Controlson coal distribution. In: A.B. Cadle (Editor), Coal Exploration, Eco-
nomics and Assessment.Univ. Witwatersrand,Geol. Dep., pp. 1-36.
Cairncross, B., 1979. Depositional frameworkand control of coal distribution and quality, Van
Dyks Drift area, northern Karoo basin. M.Sc. thesis, Natal University, Pietermaritzburg, 83
pp. (unpubl.).
Cairncross, B., 1980. Anastomosingriver deposits: palaeoenvironmentalcontrol on coal quality
and distribution, northern Karoo Basin. Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., 83: 327-332.
Cairncross, B., 1986. Depositionalenvironments of the Permian Vryheid Formation in the east
Witbank Coalfield;a frameworkfor coal seam stratigraphy,occurrenceand distribution. Ph:D.
thesis, Universityof the Witwatersrand,232 pp. (unpubl.).
Cairncross, B., 1987. Permian coal deposits of southern Africa (incorporatingBotswana, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zim-
babwe). Intern. Rep., BHP-Utah International, Herndon, VA, U.S.A., 188 pp. (unpubl.).
Cairncross, B. and Cadle, A.B., 1988. Paleoenvironmentalcontrol on coal formation,distribution
and quality in the Permian VryheidFormation,East Witbank Coalfield,South Africa. Int. J.
Coal Geol., 9: 343-370.
Cairncross, B. and Winter, M.F., 1984. High-constructivelobate deltas in the Lower Permian
Vryheid Formation, Rietspruit, South Africa. Trans. Geol.Soc. S. Aft., 87: 101-110.
 379

Christie, A.D.M., 1984. Depositional models for coal seam formation in the Klip River Coalfield,
northern Natal. Geokongres 84, 20th Congress, Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Potchefstroom, Abstr., pp.
22-25.
Christie, A.D.M., 1986. Molteno Coalfield. In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske (Editors), Mineral
Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin House, Johannesburg, pp. 2063-
2070.
Crowell, J.C. and Frakes, L.A., 1975. The late Palaeozoic glaciation. In: K.S.W. Campbell (Edi-
tor), Gondwana Geology. 3rd Gondwana Symp., Canberra, Australian National University
Press, pp. 313-331.
Duguid, K.B., 1986. Wankie district coal measures. In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske (Editors),
Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin House, Johannesburg,
pp. 2099-2104.
Falcon, R.M.S., 1986. Classification of coals in southern Africa. In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske
(Editors), Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin House,
Johannesburg, pp. 1899-1921.
Falcon, R.M.S., Pinheiro, H.G. and Shepherd, P., 1984. The palynobiostratigraphy of the major
coal seams in the Witbank Basin with lithostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and palaeocli-
matic implications. Q. News Bull., Geol. Soc. S. Afr., 28: 36-38.
Gilbert, G.K., 1985. The topographic features of lake shores. Annu. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv., 5: 75-
123.
Gilligan, R.N., 1986. OFS-Vierfontein Coalfield. In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske (Editors},
Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin House, Johannesburg,
pp. 1929-1938.
Greenshields, H.D., 1986. Eastern Transvaal Coalfield. In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske (Edi-
tors), Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S. Aft., Kelvin House, Johan-
nesburg, pp. 1995-2010.
Hagelskamp, H.H.B., 1987. A model of a coal depositional environment in the Ecca Group, (Gond-
wana) Sequence, South Africa. SEPM Annual Midyear Meeting, Austin, Texas, Abstr., p. 32.
Hobday, D.K., 1973. Middle Ecca deltaic deposits in the Muden-Tugela Ferry area of Natal. Trans.
Geol. Soc. S. Aft., 76: 309-318.
Hobday, D.K., 1986. Gondwana coal basins of Australia and South Africa: tectonic setting, de-
positional systems and resources. In: A.C. Scott (Editor), Coal and Coal-bearing Strata: Re-
cent Advances. Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 32: 219-233.
Le Blanc Smith, G., 1980. Genetic stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental controls on coal distri-
bution in the Witbank Basin Coalfield. Ph.D. thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johan-
nesburg, 242 pp. (unpubl.).
Le Blanc Smith, G. and Eriksson, K.A., 1979. A fluvioglacial and glaciolacustrine deltaic deposi-
tional model for Permo-Carboniferous coals of the northeastern Karoo basin, South Africa.
Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 27: 67-84.
McCloskey, G. and Randle, S.L., 1987. Coal year 1986. FT Business Info. Ltd., Tower House,
London, 52 pp.
Roberts, D.L., 1986. Depositional framework and controls on peat accumulation in the Vryheid
Formation of northern Natal (Utrecht and Newcastle areas). Ph.D. thesis, Natal University,
Durban, 233 pp. (unpubl.).
Smith, D.A.M. and Whittaker, R.R.L.G., 1986. The coalfields of southern Africa: an introduction.
In: C.R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske (Editors), Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II.
Geol. Soc. S. Afr., Kelvin House, Johannesburg, pp. 1875-1878.
Stanistreet, I.G., Le Blanc Smith, G. and Cadle, A.B., 1980. Trace fossils as sedimentological and
palaeoenvironmental indices in the Ecca Group (Lower Permian} of the Transvaal. Trans.
Geol. Soc. S. Afr., 83: 333-344.
380

Stanley, K.O. and Surdam, R.C., 1978. Sedimentation on the front of Eocene Gilbert-type deltas,
Washakie Basin, Wyoming. J. Sediment. Petrol., 48: 557-573.
Stratten, T., 1968. The Dwyka glaciation and its relationship to the pre-Karroo surface. Ph.D.
thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 196 pp. {unpubl. ).
Stuart-Williams, V., 1986. The Syferfontein colliery - an example of a karstic coal. In: C.R. An-
haeusser and S. Maske (Editors), Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. II. Geol. Soc. S.
Afr., Kelvin House, Johannesburg, pp. 1963-1968.
Tankard, A.J., Jackson, M.P.A., Eriksson, K.A., Hobday, D.K., Hunter, D.R. and Minter, W.E.L.,
1982. Crustal Evolution of southern Africa. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 523 pp.
Tavener-Smith, R., 1960. The Karroo System and coal measures of west Gwembe district, south-
west section. Geol. Surv. N. Rhodesia (Zambia), Bull. 4: Govt. printer, Lusaka, Zambia, 84 pp.
Tavener-Smith, R.. 1979. Regional control on coal seam occurrence in the north-east Karoo basin.
S. Afr. J. Sci., 75: 353-355.
Tavener-Smith, R., 1982. Prograding coastal facies associations in the Vryheid Formation (Per-
mian ) at Effingham Quarries near Durban, South Africa. Sediment. Geol., 32: 111-140.
Tavener-Smith, R., 1983. Recent geological research on the Vryheid Formation in the northeast
part of the main Karoo basin. S. Afr. J. Sci., 79: 328-332.
Van Vuuren, C.J., 1981. Depositional models for the Vryheid Formation in the north-eastern part
of the Karoo Basin - - a review. Annu. Geol. Surv. S. Afr., 15 (1): 1-11.
Vos, R.G. and Hobday, D.K., 1977. Storm beach deposits of the Upper Palaeozoic Ecca Group of
South Africa. Sediment. Geol., 19: 217-232.
Whateley, M.K.G., 1980. Structural controls of sedimentation in the Ecca Group in northern
Zululand. M.Sc. thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 149 pp. (unpubl.).
Winter, M.F., 1985. Lower Permian palaeoenvironments of the northern Highveld Coalfield and
their relationship to the characteristics of coal seams. Ph.D. thesis, University of the Witwa-
tersrand, Johannesburg, 261 pp. (unpubl.).