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Sulfidization of Witwatersrand black sands: From enigma to myth

1990; Geological Society of America; Volume: 18; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018 2.3.co;2

1943-2682

Thomas Reimer, David J. Mossman,

Geological and Geochemical Analysis

Research Article| May 01, 1990 Sulfidization of Witwatersrand black sands: From enigma to myth Thomas O. Reimer; Thomas O. Reimer 1Bernhard-May-Strasse 43, D-62 Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Federal Republic of Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David J. Mossman David J. Mossman 2Department of Geology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick E0A 3C0, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Thomas O. Reimer 1Bernhard-May-Strasse 43, D-62 Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Federal Republic of Germany David J. Mossman 2Department of Geology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick E0A 3C0, Canada Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1990) 18 (5): 426–429. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018 2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Thomas O. Reimer, David J. Mossman; Sulfidization of Witwatersrand black sands: From enigma to myth. Geology 1990;; 18 (5): 426–429. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018 2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Reassessment of the nature and distribution of iron-titanium oxide minerals vs. pyrite in several South African Archean arenaceous sequences and conglomerates shows that in rocks of the Swaziland, Pongola, and Witwatersrand Supergroups, (1) pyrite of allogenic and/or authigenic origin is the predominant heavy mineral; (2) iron-titanium oxides generally take the form of very fine grained, dispersed rutile-leucoxene replacements after earlier black-sand minerals; (3) iron-titanium oxides constitute 1%-6% of the total heavy minerals; and (4) the phenomenon of sulfidization of iron-titanium oxide minerals is evident only on a very local scale. Exceptions to points 1 and 3 occur in conglomerates of the Dominion Group, which were derived from a pegmatitic terrain.The lack of macroscopically visible iron-titanium oxide minerals in the Witwatersrand conglomerates is a result of a combination of two factors. First, recycling of older sedimentary material was critical to the genesis of the conglomerates; about 60% of the source area consisted of arenaceous sequences. Iron-titanium mineral grains from this source had been altered to rutile-leucoxene prior to erosion, and thus did not contribute fresh iron-titanium minerals to the conglomerates. Second, those minerals derived from the remaining 40% of the source area were altered and decomposed to rutile-leucoxene in the Witwatersrand conglomerates. Furthermore, much of the resulting finely dispersed material helped to form brannerite, an important titanium sink. There is no need to invoke widespread sulfidization of black sands to account for the supposed lack of iron-titanium minerals and abundance of pyrite in the Witwatersrand conglomerates and ores. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.