Pb-Zn-Cu deposits of South Africa

Murchison Greenstone Belt - Archean

The Murchison belt in eastern Limpopo is one of a group of greenstone belts of the Kaapvaal Craton
including the Barberton, Pietersburg and Giyani greenstone belts. Comprised of bimodal mafic to felsic
volcanic rocks, it represents a rifted epicontinetal arc sequence containing the largest VMS district in South
Africa (Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010). Striking ENE, it is bounded in the north and south by archean
granites and granitic gneisses. In its western extent the Murchison belt is overlain by the Neoporterozoic
Wolkberg Group of the Transvaal Supergroup while in the east it seperates out into amphibolite facies
volcanic lenses surrounded by granitoids, ultimately covered by strata of the Karoo Supergroup (Schwarz-
Schampera et al. 2010).

Figure 1: Geological map of the Murchison greenstone belt (Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010)

The most prominent mineralisation in the Murchison belt occurs within the “Antimony Line” (Pearton and
Viljoen 1986), a discontious < 250 m wide zone of structurally controlled Sb-Au deposits that extends for
~35 km. These deposits are hosted within schists of the Weigel Formation that have experienced talc-
chlorite and talc-carbonate alteration (Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010). A few kilometres north of this lies
the “Copper-Zinc line”, a poorly defined ~500m wide horizon comprised of volcaniclastic rocks and
extrusive felsic lavas which hosts a series of small Cu-Zn Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposits
(Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010).

Twelve deposits are hosted in the Copper-Zinc line of the belt. These include the Maranda J, LCZ,
Romotshidi, Mon Desir, Solomons and Mashawa deposits. The deposits formed during the early stages of
highly evolved felsic volcanism approximately 2.97 Ga. They usually occur as highly deformed, stratiform
sulfide lenses that continue for between 100-1000 m along strike. Preservation of deposit geometry is
suggested by their roughly equidistant spatial seperation, and also by alteration halos and high temperature
upflow zones in the footwall (Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010).
Two main ore suites characterise the deposits. The first is a low-temperature polymetallic assemblage of Zn,
Pb,Sb, As, Cd, Te, Bi, Sn dominated by sphalerite and/or pyrite that formed through exhalation of
hydrothermal fluids onto the sea bed. The other is a higher temperature suite of Cu, Ag, Au, Se, In, Co, Ni in
which chalcopyrite is the dominant ore mineral. The relatively small size of the deposits has been attributed
to frequently recurrent volcanism which would have disrupted hydrothermal activity. Their combined
tonnage is 3 Mt of very high grade Zn, subordinate Cu, and variable Pb and Au ore.

The entire rift axis likely experienced low-temperature (<250 °C) hydrothermal activity, resulting in Zn-
dominated massive sulfide bodies while higher temperature (~300 °C) episodes lead to the formation of Cu-
rich ores (Schwarz-Schampera et al. 2010). The Copper-Zinc deposits share very similar ages (ca. 2.97 Ga)
with granodiorite bodies as well as pyrite associated with gold mineralisation in the Antimony Line,
suggesting that the gold mineralisation and sulphide mineral deposition were contemporaneous and
genetically related (Jaguin et al. 2012).

Kaapvaal Craton – Paleoproterozoic

Paleoproterozoic Pb-Zn mineralisation is hosted by Neoarchean platform sediments of the Transvaal

Supergroup (Campbellrand Subgroup) on the Ghaap Plateau straddling the boundary between the Northern
Cape and North-West provinces. These deposits are widely regarded as the oldest known examples of
Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) deposits (Leach et al. 2001).

The Campbellrand Subgroup is a < 2.4 km thick sedimentary succession comprised mainly of stromatolitic
carbonates, with subordinate oolitic carbonates, chert and carbonaceous shale intercalations (Schaefer et al.
2004). In the Griqualand West region, the Transvaal Supergroup has remained relatively unmetamorphosed
and only slightly deformed since its formation. Mild folding and normal faulting has occurred, of which the
NW-SE striking Griquatown fault zone is the most prominent large-scale structural feature (Schaefer et al.
2004). It is a synsedimentary growth fault, having been formed during the deposition of the Campbellrand
Subgroup (Beukes 1987). While smaller subeconomic deposits show clear evidence of structurally
controlled mineralisation in the form of breccia bodies and fracture-hosted veins, there is no sign for such a
control in the case of the larger Bushy Park and Pering deposits (Schaefer et al. 2004).

Figure 2: Geological map of the Ghaap Plateau with the locations of known MVT deposits (Schaefer et al.
2004)
Most of the mineralisation is clustered in two areas: the Griquatown district (including the Bushy Park
deposit and a series of deposits along the Griquatown fault zone) situated some ~150 km west of Kimberley,
and the Pering deposit approximately 70 km southwest of Vryburg (Schaefer et al. 2004). Mineralisation in
the Griquatown district is hosted by domal and columnar stromatolites of the Kogelbeen Formation while
the Pering deposit is hosted by domal stromatolites of the Steekdorings Member. The Balloch deposit,
located 40 km southwest of Griquatown, is the one discovered occurrence not hosted by the Campbellrand
Subgroup but instead by iron-formation of the overlying Asbestos Hills Subgroup (Schaefer et al. 2004).

The mineralogy is typical of carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits, with the ore mineral assemblage comprising
dominantly sphalerite, subordinate galena and minor chalcopyrtite and pyrite (Greyling, 2000) while varying
proportions of dolomite, calcite and quartz constitute the gangue mineral assemblage. Mineralisation occurs
in the form of space-fill restricted to pipe-shaped breccia bodies, fracture-hosted veins and as stratabound
bodies. The ore fluids that gave rise to these deposits were low-temperature (<200 °C) Ca-rich brines (up to
24.9 wt. % NaClequiv) (Schaefer 2002).

Namaqua Province - Mesoproterozoic

The Namaqua sector of the Namaqua-Natal belt hosts several mineral deposits, with the Prieska and O`okiep
copper deposits and the copper-lead-zinc deposits in the Aggeneys-Gamsberg region being the most
prominent (McCarthy & Rubidge 2004). The Namaqua portion of the belt is separated into six different
terrains which vary in metamorphic grade from greenschist to granulite facies. These terrains are not
juvenile, i.e. they represent reworked crustal material of the Kheis Province or the Kaapvaal Craton
(Pettersson 2008). The orientation of these terrains changes from NNW-SSE in the east, NW-SE, and W-E in
the west (see fig. 3), with their regional fabrics varying accordingly (Pettersson 2008). There was general
over-thrusting towards the southwest in the western terrains, whereas in the eastern terrains this direction
was towards the east (onto the Kaapvaal Craton) (Colliston et al 2012).

Figure 3: Geological map of the Southern Africa showing the distribution and outcrop pattern of the
Namqua-Natal Belt and indicating the terrains of the Namaqua Province (Pettersson 2008)

The stratabound and strataform massive sulphide deposits of the Aggeneys-Gamsberg area (of the
Bushmanland Ore District) are hosted by the multiply deformed amphibolite-facies metasedimentry rocks of
the Bushmanland Group, a <1k thick succession. Five economic occurrences of mineralisation are found in
the terrain which are regarded as Broken-Hill type deposits. These are: Black Mountain, Broken Hill,
Broken Hill Deeps, Big Syncline, and Gamsberg. The district exhibits a zonation in the form of Pb-Zn-Cu-
Ag mineralisation at Black Mountain in the west transitioning to Zn-Pb-Ba at Gamsberg in the east.
The total initial mineral wealth of the Aggeneys-Gamsberg district was estimated to be 439 Mt at 3.60% Zn,
1.43% Pb, 0.21% Cu and 21 g/t Ag, and an additional 6 Mt of barite from the Gamsberg deposit. The
Gamsberg deposit, at just under 200 Mt at 5.51% Zn. is much larger that the others. This deposit also differs
from the other deposits in that its mineralisation is dominated by Zn, and also in the presence of
economically viable amounts of stratiform/strata-bound barite which are absent from the Aggeneys area.

References

Beukes, N.J. 1987. Facies relationships, depositional environments and diagenesis in a major early
Proterozoic stromatolitic carbonate platform to basinal sequence, Campbellrand Subgroup, Transvaal
Supergroup, Southern Africa. Sedimentary Geology, 15, 1-46.

Colliston, W.P., Schoch, A.E., Praekelt, H.E. 2012. Stratigraphy of the Mesoproterozoic Aggeneys terrane,
western Namaqua mobile belt, South Africa. South African Journal of Geology, 115, 449-464.

Greyling, L.N. 2000. The Paleoproterozoic carbonate-hosted Pering lead-zinc deposit, South Africa.
Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa, 129 pp.

Jaguin, J., Poujol, M., Boulvais, P., Robb, L.J., Packquette, J.L. 2012. Metallogeny of base and precious
metal mineralization in the Murchison Greenstone Belt, South Africa: indications from U-Pb and Pb-Pb
geochronology. Mineralium Deposita, 47, 739-747.

Leach, D.L., Bradley, D., Lewchuk, M.T., Symons, D.T.A., de Marsily, G. and Brannon, J. 2001.
Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits through geological time; implications from recent age-dating
research. Mineralium Deposita, 36, 711-740.

Pearton, T.N., Viljoen, M.J. 1986. Antimony mineralization in the Murchison greenstone belt - an overview.
In: Anhaeusser CR, Maske S (eds) Mineral deposits of Southern Africa. Geological Survey of South Africa,
Johannesburg, pp 293–320

Pettersson, Å. 2008. Mesoproterozoic crustal evolution in Southern Africa. Unpublished PhD thesis,
Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden, 28 pp.

Schaefer, 2002. Paleoproterozoic Mississippi Valley-type Pb-Zn deposits of the Ghaap Group, Transvaal
Supergroup in Griqualand West, South Africa. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Rand Afrikaans University,
Johannesburg, South Africa, 373 pp.

Schaefer, M.O., Gutzmer, J., Beukes, N.J., Greyling, L.N, 2004. Mineral chemistry of sphalerite and galena
from Pb-Zn mineralization hosted by the Transvaal Supergroup in Griqualand West, South Africa. South
African Journal of Geology, 107, 341-354.

Schwarz-Schampera, U., Terblanche, H., Oberthur, T. 2010. Volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits in the
Murchison greenstone belt, South Africa. Mineralium Deposita, 45, 113-145.