The Bushveld Complex
A magma chamber the size of Ireland crystallises into layers holding most of the world's platinum.
- When
- Known to
- ± 5 million years
- Era
- Paleoproterozoic, Proterozoic
Around 2.056 billion years ago an enormous volume of magma is emplaced beneath what is now South Africa and cools slowly, its minerals settling into distinct layers. The result is the largest layered igneous intrusion on Earth and the source of roughly three-quarters of the world's platinum, along with much of its chromium and vanadium. Its two thin reef horizons are among the most valuable rock layers anywhere.