Stratigraphy of South Africa

Swazian Erathem
Barberton (Swaziland) Supergroup
• >3 100 million years

• Onverwacht Group – a thick sequence of

metamorphosed, basic lavas at the base of the sequence.

• Fig Tree Group – a group of metamorphosed,

argillaceous, fine-grained, deepwater sediments.

• Moodies Group – coarser-grained, clastic sediments

comprising quartzites and conglomerate.
 Swazian Erathem
Barberton (Swaziland) Supergroup
- economic mineral deposits -

• Hydrothermal Gold deposits are found in the

Barberton area (locked up with Arsenopyrite).

• Antimony (the mineral Stibnite) and gold are

found near Gravelotte.
 THE LIMPOPO (METAMORPHIC) BELT

• 3 200 million – 2 600 million years

• crustal basement rocks and supra-crustal

cover rocks have been intensely deformed and
subjected to high grade metamorphism and
now consist mostly of various granodioritic
gneiss, granulites and amphibolites.
 THE WITWATERSRAND SUPERGROUP

• 3 000 million to 2 600 million years

• thick, cratonic sequence of cover rocks

deposited in a large, intra-cratonic basin
THE WITWATERSRAND SUPERGROUP
 
Turffontein Subgroup Quartzite, Conglomerate
CENTRAL RAND GROUP

Booysens Shale Formation - Kimberley Shales

Johannesburg Subgroup Quartzite, conglomerate

  Jeppestown Subgroup Mostly Shales

WEST RAND GROUP

Government Subgroup Quartzite, Shales

Hospital Hill Subgroup 2 Thick Quartzites, Shales

THE WITWATERSRAND SUPERGROUP
economic mineral deposits
• Gold
• Uranium
• Silver
• pyrites
 THE VENTERSDORP SUPERGROUP

• 2 600 million – 2 300 million years

• mainly in the Klerksdorp, Vryburg, Mafikeng and Ventersdorp area,

as far as Prieska

• andesitic to basaltic lavas; related pyroclastic rocks in the form of

agglomerates and tuffs; also a number of sedimentary intercalations.

• lies conformably on the Witwatersrand

• gold-bearing conglomerate (Ventersdorp Contact Reef)

 THE TRANSVAAL SEQUENCE SUPERGROUP

• 2 200 million – 2 000 million years

(Proterozoic )

• a vast, shallow inland sea covering at least 500

000 Km2 of the Kaapvaal Craton
THE TRANSVAAL SEQUENCE SUPERGROUP
TRANSVAAL SUPERGROUP GRIQUALAND WEST SUPERGROUP  
GROUP FORMATION GROUP FORMATION LITHOLOGIES
Dullstroom volcanics   Basaltic lava flows
     
Magaliesberg   Quartzite
   
Silverton   Shales
     
Daspoort   Quartzite and shale
     
Hekpoort Basalt Ongeluk Volcanics Basaltic lavas
PRETORIA GROUP   POSTMASBURG GROUP    
Timeball Hill Gamagara Shale

Duitschland Koegas Dolomite, shale and Bif.

     
Penge Iron Fmn Asbesheuwels Banded iron formations
         
CHUNIESPOORT GROUP Malmani Subgroup GHAAP GROUP Campbellrand Dolomite and Chert

Quartzite with minor conglomerate

  BLACK REEF   VRYBURG Fmn. and shale
   
Selati   Quartzite and shale.
Schelem Only in Northern Province and Mpumalanga Arkose and conglomerate
  Abel Erasmus Basalts
WOLKBERG GROUP Sekororo Arkose and wackes
 THE TRANSVAAL SEQUENCE
SUPERGROUP DEPOSITS
• Gold has been mined in a few places in the Black
Reef.
• Gold has been mined at Pilgrims Rest in dolomite.
• Iron ore deposits at Thabazimbi in the Penge
Formation.
• Manganese
• Limestone at Lime Acres
• Dolomite is quarried from the Malmani Subgroup.
• “Slate,” Slasto and ‘glass’ sand are quarried from
the Pretoria Group.
 THE BUSHVELD COMPLEX

• 2 000 million – 1 900 million years

• various rocks varying from basic to acid; layered

structure

• occurs in the Limpopo and North-West provinces;

extends into Botswana

• made up of a number of funnel-like intrusions

 THE BUSHVELD COMPLEX

• An early ‘basic,’ igneous phase during which diabase sills were intruded
into the Pretoria Group. The Dullstroom Volcanics at the top of the
Pretoria Group may be an extrusive, volcanic event related to this phase.
•
• An ‘acid volcanic phase (Felsites – fine-grained granite) forming the roof of
the Complex.
•  
• The ‘basic,’ main plutonic phase (Rustenburg layered suite) forming a thick
sequence of layered, basic igneous rocks intruded into the Pretoria Group.
•  
• An ‘acid,’ plutonic phase where granitic magma intruded on top of the
basic rocks forming the Lebowa Granite Suite.
THE RUSTENBURG LAYERED SUITE COMPLEX
 
UPPER ZONE DIORITE, ANORTHOSITE, GABBRO - MAGNETIC BANDS
 

 
MAIN ZONE NORITE, ANORTHOSITE, GABBRO - MAIN MAGNETITE
(including Ti)
 

 
CRITICAL ZONE NORITE, ANORTHOSITE, PYROXENITE – MERENSKY (Pt)
(Layered) REEF AT TOP, MAIN CHROME BANDS AT BOTTOM
 

 
BASAL ZONE NORITE, PYROXENITE, PERIDOTITE – CHROMITE BANDS
 

 
CHILL ZONE NORITE
 
• The Bushveld Complex contains the world’s largest reserves of
platinum (Merensky Reef), chrome, vanadium.

• It is an important source of Copper and Nickel (by-products

from Platinum mining) and Titanium and Vanadium (in the
magnetite iron ore).

• Norite rock (dimension stone) is quarried near Belfast, Brits and

Rustenburg as dimension stone.

• Fluorite is mined near Naboomspruit.

• Tin is found near Warmbaths and Potgietersrus.

 THE KAROO SEQUENCE
SUPERGROUP
• 300 million – 150 million years

• covers half of South Africa

• environments from glacial, deepwater marine, marginal marine (beach

and deltaic), to coarse bedload and mixed-load streams and deserts

• tillite, shale and sandstone, siltstone, turbidite deposits, accumulations

of vegetation, final episode of the Karoo was the outpouring of “basic”
lava, “acid” lava, dykes and sills with a “basic” dolerite

• Economic mineral deposits:

Coal is mined from the Vryheid Formation, predominantly in
Mpumulanga and KwaZulu Natal
 The Karoo Supergroup:
lithologies and subdivisions
Group Subgroup Formation Lithologies

DRAKENSBURG basalt, rhyolite,

dolerite dykes and
sills

BEAUFORT Tarkastad; mudstone, shale,

Molteno dinosaur fossils

ECCA Vryheid; shale, sandstone,

Volkstad; siltstone, coal
Pietermaritzburg

DWYKA glacial deposits

(tillite)
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