Today, rare metals such as chromium, and vanadium have almost superseded their gold cousin because of their many uses in high-tech manufacturing. Found in many of the same areas as platinum, the growing demand for these metals has seen a new wave of exploration over the past few years.
Containing global platinum-group element, chromium, and vanadium resources, in addition to major deposits of copper, nickel, gold, tin, iron, fluorite, and dimension stone, South Africa’s Bushveld Complex has come to be known as the most valuable mineral province on Earth. Located in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and Gauteng provinces, the Bushveld Complex has been mined extensively and still contains enough platinum that it has been estimated it will take another 700 years to extract it all.
Despite more than a century of research on the Bushveld Complex, many unanswered questions relating to the formation of the complex and its mineral wealth remain. This has prompted an international group of scientists to embark on a scientific drilling project. Led by geologists from South Africa and Germany, the team aims to answer some of these questions, as well as evaluate the potential for groundwater extraction from rocks in the area.
According to Professor Freddie Roelofse, Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of the Free State, the project aims to clarify “several unresolved scientific questions” related to the genesis of this unique body of rocks and its associated mineral deposits. Two boreholes will be drilled as part of the project, including a 600 metre deep hole to the north of Mokopane and a 3 km deep hole northwest of Burgersfort.
“This project is aimed at clarifying some of these unresolved issues, including improving our understanding of the magma chamber processes operational within the Bushveld Complex, the source of the magmas and their interaction with the rocks that they intruded, the origin of the abundant ore deposits within the complex, and the geophysical properties of the rocks. We also hope to learn more about the hydrogeological characteristics of the Bushveld Complex at depth, its geothermal energy potential, and its microbial ecosystems,” Prof. Roelofse said in a statement.
“We also trust that South African mining companies, particularly those operating within the platinum industry, will benefit from this research through a renewed interest in the mineral potential of the Bushveld Complex.”
A renewed interest in mining the area would certainly help the government achieve its goal of bringing new investment into the country – and perhaps mitigate some of the damage done by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe’s recent faux pas at an international mining conference. Mantashe promoted the non-existent mineral “hazenile” to investors, mentioning hazenile in the same breath as battery minerals lithium, graphite and cobalt.
The fake mineral was first mentioned on the website of Smart Energy International on April 1, where it was described as a “miracle new mineral to revolutionise battery storage”, with a researcher saying its discovery was more important than the discovery of “unobtainium”. The article on the website ended with: “This was an APRIL FOOL's joke. We hope you had a laugh along with us...”