Witwatersrand basin
Gauteng and Free State, South Africa
OtherAu-U
- Type
- Archaean gold palaeoplacer
An Archaean gold basin (3.0 to 2.7 Ga) and the largest source of gold in history, with about half of all gold ever produced. Gold and uranium are carried by detrital pyrite, concentrically laminated or as rounded grains. The likely detrital source is the Barberton greenstone belt (Swaziland Sequence).
δ34S in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system
Standard : V-CDT
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −5 / 10 ‰ | detrital pyrite (concentrically laminated and other) Approximate range, representing the usual variability of Archaean detrital pyrites of the Witwatersrand. Exact values to be taken from the article. | Multi-isotope S study, Hofmann et al. 2009 EPSL 286:436-445 |
Deposits of the same type
- Central African Copperbelt (whole province) DR Congo and Zambia
- Timna Israël
- Stelvio Italy
- Oris Italy
- Kupferschiefer, Lubin-Sieroszowice district Poland
- Lahn-Dill ores (Grube Fortuna, Wetzlar) Germany
- Zankan China
- Eyller Bruch bog iron ore Germany
Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Witwatersrand basin, isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/bassin-du-witwatersrand/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
@misc{isofind2026witwatersrandbasinisotopesign,
title = {Witwatersrand basin, isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/deposits/bassin-du-witwatersrand/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-06}
}Updated : 2026-10-06