Journal article
Hydrothermal alteration in the Witwatersrand goldfields
GN Phillips, R Powell
Ore Geology Reviews | Published : 2015
Abstract
Alteration is recorded throughout much of the 3. km thick Upper Witwatersrand succession in South Africa, and extends for 300. km around the basin and 50. km into the basin. The evidence for this alteration comes from petrography, mineralogy, geochemistry, rock fabrics and stratigraphy. The alteration, conceived as a giant halo enveloping each major goldfield, requires a major hydrothermal event focused on the auriferous Upper Wits (Central Rand Group). The scale and nature of the alteration, and its relationship to gold distribution on various scales, strongly support a hydrothermal model for gold deposition. Such a model can account for the 50,000. t of gold mined from the Witwatersrand go..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The study was greatly facilitated by underground visits to forty operating Witwatersrand gold mines. Having research projects across all operating mines and most active reef horizons provided an exceptional opportunity to appreciate the similarities and differences not revealed in a single goldfield and not expressed in the literature. Research projects with Gencor, Gold Fields of South Africa, Anglo American, Johannesburg Consolidated Industries and Rand Mines greatly progressed our understanding. At various times the research has been supported by the Richard Ward Endowment, COMRO, Australian Research Council, University of Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University, Rands Afrikaans University (U Johannesburg), Minsaco Resources, James Cook University Key Centre, CSIRO and University of Melbourne.