Layered Cr-Pt Mafic-Ultramafic Complexes

General Setting

Occur in an plutonic igneous setting and appear to be intruded into a more or less stable
craton. Most economically important LMIs are Proterozoic in age. All are layered with
the average composition of a gabbro.

Distribution

Only eight known layered igneous complexes in the world, and of these only three have
significant chromium. Two of those have been mined for chromium (Bushveld Igneous
Complex, South Africa and the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe) and only one for platinum (BIC).

Form

In cross section most layered complexes appear as an inverted funnel or steep-sided cone
(Figure). The complexes are immense in size often covering thousands of square
kilometers. All are layered grading from ultramafic rocks at the base to mafic or
intermediate rocks near the top of the complex. Some also are associated with late stage
granitic intrusives which cut the complex.

Setting

In general, the complexes seem to have been intruded into tectonically stable portions of
the crust. There is little synkinematic or postkinematic deformation. In plan view, the
complexes often appear to be elliptical to dike-like leading to the suggestion that they
may have been emplaced along either active or aborted rift systems. The average
SiO2content of the complexes is about 54%, approximately that of a noritic gabbro,
however, gradational layering is a conspicuous feature. Rocks at the base of a typical
complex are peridotites, dunites and anorthosite, grading upward in gabbro and
occasionally diorite. Granites are common cap rocks to the complexes, but radiometric
age dates suggest these granites are significantly younger than the associated rocks and
probably not the product of magmatic differentiation.

Chromite occurs only in the lower portions of the complexes interbedded with the
ultramafics. Chromite grains are euhedral suggesting derivation through the same process
of magmatic differentiation responsible for the ultramafics.

Platinum occurs in association with the chromite, but is restricted to a few sulfide-rich
bands. The sulfides, principally pyrrhotite and pentlandite, are interstitial to the
silicates/oxides and probably derived from magmatic segregation of a sulfide phase.

Two types of layering characterize these complexes (Figure). Rhythmic layering is the
repetitious oscillation from rock type to rock type upward within the complex. The
repetitions are most pronounced in the lower portions of the complex where layer upon
layer of peridotite, dunite and anorthosite have been deposited. Presumably the
repetitions represent periodic depletions of critical cations in the magma chamber.
Cryptic layering is the more systematic variation in certain elements within a complex.
An example is the general depletion of Mg from bottom to top of the complex (See
Figure for other examples). This systematic variation in certain elements is thought to
indicate differentiation for a single parent magma as periodic reinjections of new magma
would not allow cryptic layering.
Genesis

The layered complexes and chromite layers are generally agreed to be the result of
magmatic differentiation and gravitative settling on an enormous scale. The cryptic
layering provides strong support for this model The magma is generally thought to have
been sourced in the lower crust or upper mantle. Some suggest the complexes were
emplaced along aborted rift systems. The aborted rift systems were the result of
convection cells that were too weak to fragment continental crust. The genesis of the
platinum layers is more controversial. It is suggested that since the richest platinum
deposits lie beneath layers of anorthosite these layers probably played an integral role in
the concentration of platinum. Since anorthosite consists of calcium plagioclase which is
of low density relative to the magma the crystals would float at the top of the magma
chamber. Platinum and associated copper and nickel, not accommodated in silicates,
would concentrate in the volatile fraction which would rise to the top of the chamber only
to be trapped by the layer of floating plagioclase crystals. As the silicates crystallized the
concentration of Fe and Si would drop and oxygen and sulfur fugacity increase.
Eventually chromite would precipitate and as the magma became depleted in oxygen the
sulfides and platinoids would follow.

The Bushveld Igneous Complex

Location

Main ore producing horizons outcrop within an area 280 km long by 160 km wide
centered roughly on the town of Rustenburg in the Transvaal State of South Africa
(Figure).

History

Chromite seams were first discovered in the 1870’s, but were of little economic
importance since Europe, the closest major market, received much of its chromite from
southeastern Europe. Platinum was first discovered in panned concentrates of stream
sediments in 1924. Within a few years Hans Merensky had traced the platinum to its
source within the Bushveld Complex and to a particular horizon which was to become
known as the Merensky Reef.
Geologic Setting

The Bushveld Complex is a composite body intruded into Proterozoic sedimentary rocks
of the Transvaal Supergroup and overlying Rooiberg Lavas which themselves lie on a
basement of Archean granite and gneiss (Figure). The central portion of the complex is
overlain by younger sediments of the Paleozoic Karroo Supergroup. The BIC consists of
two primary phases, a lower mafic/ultramafic group and the overlying Bushveld Granites.
While once thought to be a part of a single differentiated magma the overlying granites
are now known to be younger and not truly a part of the complex. Also the lower
mafic/ultramafic series is now recognized to be a composite of four sill-like intrusives
although many of the older cross sections still depict the BIC as a single bowl-shaped
feature (Figure).
All chromite platinum producing horizons lie within the mafic/ultramafic rocks of the
BIC (Figure above). This portion of the complex has been subdivided into four zones.
The Basal Zone (1400 meters) consists of interlayered peridotite and pyroxenite. The
contact with the overlying Critical Zone (1400 meters) is a persistent chromitite layer.
The Critical Zone consists of repetitive thin layers of dunite, pyroxenite, anorthosite and
chromite as well a several important platinum-bearing horizons. The important Merensky
Reef lies at the top of the Critical Zone and marks the contact with the overlying,
predominantly gabbroic, Main Zone (3000 meters). This in turn is overlain by the
gabbroic to dioritic Upper Zone (2000 meters) a portion of which constituents an
important iron resource.
The platinum within the complex occurs both as substitution with the dominant sulfides
pyrrhotite and pyrite (60%) and as various platinum sulfides (40%). All platinum is
intimately associated with chromite seams and in general appears to be concentrated
beneath anorthosite layers.

Genesis

The overall genesis of the complex is similar to that of other layered intrusives and
thought to be the product of magmatic differentiation. As your text points out, however,
numerous puzzling problems remain. The most intriguing are the possible role of a
meteor impact as a trigger to the intrusion; the presence of scour structures which are
incompatible with a model necessitating a gentle rain of crystals to cause the delicate
layering; and the oscillatory nature of the layering especially in the Critical Zone.

It is generally agreed that the following sequence of events must have occurred:

1. Deposition of the Transvaal Supergroup during early-mid Proterozoic.

2. Extrusion of the Rooiberg Lavas along a series of feeder structures during the
mid-Proterozoic.
3. Intrusion of the Bushveld Complex as four sill-like masses between the two
aforementioned units during mid Proterozoic (1.9 BY)
4. Partial melting of the surrounding host rocks as a consequence of intrusion of the
BIC with subsequent generation of the Bushveld Granites.
 Characteristics of Layered Cr-Pt Complexes

1. Occur in thick (>5000 meter) layered complexes which cover thousands of

square kilometers.
2. Vary in composition from ultramafic at the base to felsic at the top, but in
general have the composition of a gabbro.
3. Layering is repetitive with ores as thin bands near the top of the ultramaflc
sequence.
4. Seem to be restricted to stable cratonic settings and are clustered in the
Early Proterozoic (1.5-2.5 BY).
5. Elongation of many complexes suggests crustal rifting.
6. Complexes have both cryptic and rhythmic layering.
7. Important producers of platinum and chromium, lesser Iron.
8. Thought to be textbook examples of magmatic segregation of magmas
derived from upper mantle source areas.