Related DFG-Projects

[Haase] Probing the roots of the Bushveld Complex: drilling through the lower zones into the intrusive floor (2022 - ongoing)

[Rammlmair] Spectroscopic mineral - chemical analysis of drill cores: Development of fast 2D LIBS, EDXRF and hyperspectral scanning with application to outstanding problems of the Bushveld Complex layered intrusion (2021 - ongoing)

[Trumbull] How was the Bushveld complex assembled? Pulsed intrusions, crystallization conditions and the origin of layering in the Main Zone (2020 - ongoing)

[Trumbull] How was the Bushveld complex assembled? Pulsed intrusions, crystallization conditions and the origin of layering in the Main Zone (2023 - ongoing)

Description

With on the order of 1 million km3 of igneous rocks, the Bushveld Complex by itself constitutes a Large Igneous Province. Its size alone poses first-order questions about how such vast volumes of magma are generated from the mantle. However, apart from its size, the Bushveld has several other features that make it remarkable. 1) Unlike most Large Igneous Provinces, the Bushveld Complex is largely plutonic and represents the roots of such systems. It is the world's largest preserved igneous intrusion and presents a unique record of magma chamber processes on a truly grand scale. 2) The Bushveld Complex is bimodal in composition, with subequal proportions of mafic and felsic igneous rocks. This compositional diversity provides an opportunity to study relationships between mantle and crustal sources of magmatism in detail. 3) The Bushveld Complex contains fabulous mineral wealth, with resources of strategic and high-tech metals that are vital for both the South African and the global economies. Most important are the platinum-group elements, with on the order of 70% of world reserves, but there is very large production of Cu and Ni, Chrome, Vanadium, Fluorspar, Tin and dimension stone. The opportunity for cooperation with the mining industry can be of great mutual benefit. An ICDP project on the Bushveld Complex will focus and coordinate efforts of the international community to solve major outstanding questions relating to large-scale melting of Earth's mantle, to magma chamber processes including the concentration of ore metals, and to the impact of mass and heat flux by magmas and related fluids into the shallow crust, the surface and the atmosphere. The Bushveld Scientific Drilling project will advance the following ICDP science themes: 1) Large igneous provinces and mantle plumes, 2) Natural resources, and 3) Volcanic systems and thermal regimes. An ICDP project can play a major role in capacity building, it can lay the foundations for a curated, internationally-available reference collection of Bushveld material for future research, teaching and for public outreach as a geologic heritage site. This contribution will be of lasting value to the international community.

Related Workshops

Drilling through the largest magma chamber on Earth: Bushveld Igneous Complex Drilling Project (BICDP) (7 September, 2014)