Vaal Reefs Mine, Moqhaka Local Municipality, Fezile Dabi District Municipality, Free State, South Africai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Vaal Reefs Mine | Mine |
| Moqhaka Local Municipality | Municipality |
| Fezile Dabi District Municipality | Municipality |
| Free State | Province |
| South Africa | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
26° 57' 51'' South , 26° 46' 55'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Orkney | 145,801 (2012) | 11.0km |
| Stilfontein | 93,110 (2012) | 13.3km |
| Klerksdorp | 178,921 (2012) | 16.9km |
| Viljoenskroon | 54,955 (2012) | 31.7km |
| Potchefstroom | 123,669 (2012) | 41.8km |
Rocks forming part of the Main-Bird and the Kimberley-Elsburg formations of the Central rand Group of the Witwatersrand Supergroup are found in the mine. Most of the rocks are indurated quartz wackes with only a few orthoquartzite horizons such as the Denny's Zone and the immediate hanging wall of the Vaal Reef.
Microscopically the rocks consist of detrital quartz and chert grains in a fine-grained sericitic to partly siliceous matrix which may constitute more than 50 per cent of the rock.
Heavy minerals, such as zircon, chromite, rutile, leucoxene, pyrite, tourmaline, epidote, apatite and magnetite, occur in most of the zones.
The Vaal Reef, the economic horizon, is a small-pebble, oligomictic conglomerate, often containing thucholite seams and granules, and varying in thickness from a mere parting to more than five feet.
There appears to be a correlation between greater pebble size and higher ore grade but no correlation of sorting coefficients and gold value.
The mineralogy of the Vaal Reef was studied by means of polished sections and heavy mineral concentrates.
The minerals identified include gold, pyrite of several ages, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, uraninite, galena, brannerite, gersdorffite or cobaltite, skutterudite, danaite, niccolite, pentlandite, magnetite, zircon, chromite, rutile, leucoxene, monazite, sphalerite, tourmaline, and fluorite.
From a study of the silver content of gold in the Vaal Reef, it is concluded that the variations in apparent fineness are a reflection of the composition of the gold in the original source rocks.
There is a definite uranium-gold relationship in the Vaal Reef.
With the increase in grade the amount of U₃O₈ increases but the U₃O₈:AU ratio decreases (Jacob 1966).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Baryte Formula: BaSO4 References: |
| ⓘ Dyscrasite Formula: Ag3Sb |
| ⓘ Gersdorffite Formula: NiAsS |
| ⓘ Geversite Formula: PtSb2 |
| ⓘ Michenerite Formula: PdBiTe |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Description: Also seen as an inclusion in baryte References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Stibiopalladinite Formula: Pd5Sb2 |
| ⓘ Stibnite Formula: Sb2S3 |
| ⓘ Sudburyite Formula: PdSb |
| ⓘ 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' Formula: Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
| ⓘ Tučekite Formula: Ni9Sb2S8 |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Dyscrasite | 2.AA.35 | Ag3Sb |
| ⓘ | Stibiopalladinite | 2.AC.20a | Pd5Sb2 |
| ⓘ | Tučekite | 2.BB.10 | Ni9Sb2S8 |
| ⓘ | Sudburyite | 2.CC.05 | PdSb |
| ⓘ | Stibnite | 2.DB.05 | Sb2S3 |
| ⓘ | Geversite | 2.EB.05a | PtSb2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Gersdorffite | 2.EB.25 | NiAsS |
| ⓘ | Michenerite | 2.EB.25 | PdBiTe |
| ⓘ | 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' | 2.GB.05 | Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Gersdorffite | NiAsS |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
| S | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| S | ⓘ Tučekite | Ni9Sb2S8 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Ni | Nickel | |
| Ni | ⓘ Gersdorffite | NiAsS |
| Ni | ⓘ Tučekite | Ni9Sb2S8 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | ⓘ Gersdorffite | NiAsS |
| Pd | Palladium | |
| Pd | ⓘ Michenerite | PdBiTe |
| Pd | ⓘ Stibiopalladinite | Pd5Sb2 |
| Pd | ⓘ Sudburyite | PdSb |
| Ag | Silver | |
| Ag | ⓘ Dyscrasite | Ag3Sb |
| Sb | Antimony | |
| Sb | ⓘ Dyscrasite | Ag3Sb |
| Sb | ⓘ Geversite | PtSb2 |
| Sb | ⓘ Stibiopalladinite | Pd5Sb2 |
| Sb | ⓘ Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
| Sb | ⓘ Sudburyite | PdSb |
| Sb | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| Sb | ⓘ Tučekite | Ni9Sb2S8 |
| Te | Tellurium | |
| Te | ⓘ Michenerite | PdBiTe |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Pt | Platinum | |
| Pt | ⓘ Geversite | PtSb2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Bi | Bismuth | |
| Bi | ⓘ Michenerite | PdBiTe |
Other Databases
| Wikipedia: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaal_Reefs |
|---|---|
| Wikidata ID: | Q7907808 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
AfricaContinent
Somali PlateTectonic Plate
South Africa
- ⭔TransvaalProvince
- Witwatersrand goldfieldMining Region
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Vaal Reefs Mine, Moqhaka Local Municipality, Fezile Dabi District Municipality, Free State, South Africa