The Archaean Geology of the Kaapvaal Craton, Southern Africa

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Archaean Crystalline Rocks of the Eastern Kaapvaal Craton

   • Alfred Kröner, J. Elis Hoffmann, Jean M. Wong, Hong-Yan Geng, Kathrin P. Schneider, Hangqiang Xie et al.

   Pages 1-32

3. Archaean Granitoid–Greenstone Geology of the Southeastern Part of the Kaapvaal Craton

   • Axel Hofmann, Carl R. Anhaeusser, John Dixon, Alfred Kröner, Lopamudra Saha, Allan Wilson et al.

   Pages 33-54

4. Palaeo- Meso- and Neoarchaean Granite-Greenstone Basement Geology and Related Rocks of the Central and Western Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

   • Carl R. Anhaeusser

   Pages 55-81

5. Granitoids and Greenstone Belts of the Pietersburg Block—Witnesses of an Archaean Accretionary Orogen Along the Northern Edge of the Kaapvaal Craton

   • Oscar Laurent, Armin Zeh, Günther Brandl, Adrien Vezinet, Allan Wilson

   Pages 83-107

6. The Mesoarchaean Basement Complex of the Vredefort Dome—A Mid-Crustal Section Through the Central Kaapvaal Craton Exposed by Impact

   • Roger L. Gibson

   Pages 109-132

7. The Moodies Group—a High-Resolution Archive of Archaean Surface Processes and Basin-Forming Mechanisms

   • Christoph Heubeck

   Pages 133-169

8. Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt: A Review

   • Andrea Agangi, Axel Hofmann, Benjamin Eickmann, Johanna Marin-Carbonne

   Pages 171-184

9. The Neoarchaean Limpopo Orogeny: Exhumation and Regional-Scale Gravitational Crustal Overturn Driven by a Granulite Diapir

   • Dirk D. van Reenen, C. Andre Smit, Alexei L. Perchuk, Jan M. Huizenga, Oleg G. Safonov, Taras V. Gerya

   Pages 185-224

10. The Pongola Supergroup: Mesoarchaean Deposition Following Kaapvaal Craton Stabilization

    • Casey Luskin, Allan Wilson, Digby Gold, Axel Hofmann

    Pages 225-254

11. The Witwatersrand Basin and Its Gold Deposits

    • Hartwig E. Frimmel

    Pages 255-275

12. Neoarchaean to Early Palaeoproterozoic Within-Plate Volcanism of the Kaapvaal Craton: Comparing the Ventersdorp Supergroup and the Ongeluk and Hekpoort Formations (Transvaal Supergroup)

    • Fabien Humbert, Michiel de Kock, Nils Lenhardt, Wladyslaw Altermann

    Pages 277-302

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of one of the oldest and best-exposed Archaean cratons on this planet. There is currently a renewed interest in the early Earth, and the Kaapvaal craton has long served as a model for early crustal evolution. This unique multidisciplinary resource features information on geology, tectonics, geochemistry, and geochronology. It offers a wealth of new data on various aspects of the craton as well as contributions on the various crustal units by international specialists.

• Barberton Greenstone Belt
• Gneiss-granite-greenstone Terrane
• Witwatersrand Gold
• Transvaal Supergroup
• Limpopo Belt
• structural geology
• mineral resources

• Institut für Geowissenschaften, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

  Alfred Kröner

• Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg , Auckland Park, South Africa

  Axel Hofmann

Alfred Kröner is Professor emeritus at Mainz University, Germany, and visiting Professor at the Beijing SHRIMP Centre, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. He is a field geologist with interest in tectonics and geochronology and has mainly worked on aspects of crustal evolution in Africa, specifically the Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa. He has published more than 400 scientific papers and was editor or was on the editorial board of several international earth science journals. 

Axel Hofmann is Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He combines field-based studies of volcano-sedimentary successions with trace element and stable isotope geochemistry for the understanding of Archaean surface processes, early life and sediment-hosted mineral deposits. The Kaapvaal craton with its unique record of more than 3-billion-years old strata of low metamorphic grade is the focus of his research.

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