RHODES UNIVERSITY Grahamstown • 6 1 10* South Africa
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RHODES UNIVERSITY Grahamstown • 6 1 10* South Africa Characterization of the distribution of Platinum Group Elements in Sulphide Ores within the Merensky Reef at Modikwa and Two Rivers Platinum Mines, Eastern Bushveld Complex, South Africa By Nosibulelo Julie Zilibokwe A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (Economic Geology) MSc Exploration Geology Programme Geology Department Rhodes University P.O. Box 94 Grahamstown 6140 South Africa April 2017 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Almighty God for keeping me healthy and energetic from the start until the end of this journey. This thesis is dedicated to my mother Dorothy Zilibokwe, thank you mama-D for providing me with a sound education. I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor Dr Napoleon Q. Hammond, now at the University of Limpopo, for your valuable professional guidance, advice and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of this dissertation. Thank you for believing in me Doc. I remain indebted to my manager Dr Stewart Foya at the Council for Geoscience, thank you for permitting me to carry out my studies and for also taking time out of your busy schedule to attend to my queries. You provided great personal guidance, encouragement and support throughout this journey. My gratitude is boundless and I thank you for making this all possible. Special gratitude to my co-supervisor Prof. R.E. “Jock” Harmer in the Geology Department at Rhodes University, for your advice, guidance and valuable support during the writing of this dissertation. Furthermore, I wish to thank the staff of the Geology Department at Rhodes for warmly welcoming me whenever I had any questions or queries. I would especially like to thank Mrs Ashley Goddard for your unconditional support and excellent administrative performance. In addition, I would like to thank the many lecturers who took the time to teach our class about their geological specialities and the staff at the mines across South Africa we were exposed to. Many thanks to the geological teams at Modikwa and Two Rivers Platinum Mines, in particular, Mr N. Machumele and Mr J. Khumalo for your assistance and warm welcome during the mine visits. This thesis would not have been possible without project data and drill-core samples supplied by Anglo Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals/Impala. I would also like to sincerely thank Mr Abdul Kenan from the Council for Geoscience, the funniest advisor who is always ready to assist, I have learnt several things from you. Thank you for your assistance in the drawing of the grade profiles. Your tremendous support, timely help and advice have been extremely valuable to me and I am indebted to you. 11 NwaNdwandwe (Valerie Nxumalo) from the Council for Geoscience, words cannot convey my full appreciation for the interest, involvement, support and selfless help extended by you during this research, you have greatly motivated me as a mentor. I cannot forget to thank my classmates who made this two-year journey unforgettable. It was fun to study with you guys. I greatly acknowledge the Mining Qualification Authority (MQA), the Councilfor Geoscience in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for funding my studies. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the Council for Geoscience Laboratory staff, Mr N. Nxokwana (MK) and Mr L. Maema, without those thin sections this thesis would not have been possible. Many thanks to Dr Gelu Costin for your critical input during the microprobe analyses. The use of the Jeol JXA 8230 Superprobe instrument, sponsored by NRF/NEP Grant 40113 (UID 74464) is kindly acknowledged. I wish to humbly thank Mr T. Mothupi from Mintek for your warm welcome and advice on the Mineral Liberation Analyser (MLA) data presentation, together with Mr J. Chiliza for conducting the assay analyses. I have no words to thank my entire family and relatives for your love, care, prayers and encouraging words that facilitated me achieving my goals. To all my dearest friends, colleagues and well-wishers who I have not named above, you have been my pillar of strength and your best wishes greatly encouraged me during this research. Thank you all for the different roles you have played throughout this journey, (Yes You!). m Declaration I, Nosibulelo Julie Zilibokwe, declare that this dissertation is my own work. It is being submitted for the Degree of Master of Science at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other University. Signature of Candidate.. .Nosibulelo Julie Zilibokwe................................................................ Date: ............................... th day of April 2017......................................................................... Place.. .Silverton........Pretoria.................................................................................................... iv Abstract The distribution of the platinum group element (PGE), in the Merensky Reef was characterized by, first determining the occurrence of the platinum group minerals (PGM), then by establishing the PGE concentration in the base metal sulphides (BMS) associated with the PGE mineralization in the Merensky Reef from selected borehole intersections, at the Two Rivers (TRP) and Modikwa Platinum Mines in the Eastern Bushveld Complex. A mineral liberation analyser (MLA) was then used to identify the PGM phases; their silicate and base metal associations; and their grain size distribution. Electron microprobe quantitative analysis and mapping were then used to determine the compositional variation of the PGM and the PGE elemental distribution in the BMS, respectively. The study showed that the BMS including pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite were the principal sulphides, where pyrrhotite was most prominent with minor quantities of pyrite. Orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and plagioclase were the most abundant primary silicate minerals identified, while secondary silicates identified included talc, serpentine and amphibole. Platinum group minerals showed three distinct groups with respect to the mineralogical association with the PGE; (i) BMS association; (ii) chromite association; and (iii) silicate association. Of the BMS, chalcopyrite showed the most dominant association with the PGMs. All samples from both mines exhibited a wide range of PGMs, including maslovite, braggite, cooperate, laurite and PGE alloys such as ferroplatinum as well as other unidentified platinum and palladium sulphides, arsenides and bismuthides, while gold was present as electrum. The PGMs ranged in size from less than a micron to about 125 microns with an average of 20 microns. The close association of PGM with BMS along the margins of sulphides indicates that the PGMs were derived from the sulphide melt. PGE distribution in the sulphides at Modikwa showed pentlandite contained the highest concentrations of palladium (up to 379 ppm) and chalcopyrite hosting the highest rhodium concentrations (up to 793 ppm). Samples from Two Rivers revealed pentlandite as the principal host to both palladium and rhodium, with concentrations reaching up to 695 and 930 ppm, respectively. Magnetite at both Modikwa and Two Rivers showed significant rhodium content, reaching up to 982 and 930 ppm, respectively. v The pyrrhotite compared to other sulphides contained all the elements found in the platinum group (PPGE), namely, platinum, palladium and rhodium, with all the platinum identified found in the pyrrhotite. The concentrations for the iridium group (IPGE) namely, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium were below the detection limit. The PGE mineralization in the stratigraphy varied within each mine. The mineralization revealed top loading in the central sector (Modikwa) and bottom loading in the southern sector (Two Rivers). The sequence of the Merensky Reef at the two sectors of the Eastern Bushveld Complex showed a remarkable similarity in their mineralogy suggesting that these two sectors were formed from the same liquid or formed simultaneously within a single magma chamber; however the PGE distribution within the stratigraphy may have been controlled by the presence of cumulate sulphides. Keywords: Platinum group elements (PGE), Platinum group minerals (PGM), Merensky Reef, Bushveld Complex, Modikwa, Two Rivers. vi List of Abbreviations Amp Amphibole ARM African Rainbow Minerals ASSMANG Associated Manganese Mines of South Africa Limited ATP Annual Technical Report BCU Bastard Cyclic Unit Bio Biotite BMS Base Metal Sulphides BSE Back Scattered Electron Ccp Chalcopyrite CGS Council for Geoscience Chl Chlorite Chr Chromite Cpx Clinopyroxene CZ Critical Zone EPMA Electron Probe Micro Analyzer IPGE Iridium (Ir), Osmium (Os) and Ruthenium (Ru) IRUP Iron Rich Ultramafic Pegmatite JV Joint Venture LZ Lower Zone MZ Main Zone MaZ Marginal Zone MCU Merensky Cyclic Unit MLA Mineral Liberation Analyzer MPM Modikwa Platinum Mine MPX Merensky Pyroxenite Ol Olivine vii Opx Orthopyroxene OV Onverwacht PFP Pegmatoidal Feldspathic Pyroxenite PGE Platinum Group Elements PGM Platinum Group Minerals Phl Phlogopite Pn Pentlandite PPGE Platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh) PPL Plane Polarized Light RLS Rustenburg Layered Suite SEM-EDS Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectrometry Srp Serpentine TRP Two Rivers Platinum UZ Upper Zone viii Table of Contents Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................ii