Union Mine

Producer in North-West, South Africa with commodities PGE, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Gold, Ruthenium, Iridium, Osmium, Nickel, Copper
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Ownership information
  16. Production statistics
  17. Reserves and resources
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10038808
MRDS ID M046257
Record type Site
Mineralized Area Bushveld Complex
Current site name Union Mine
Alternate or previous names Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd. Union Section

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: 27.16139, -24.94087 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 48 MILES N 5 DEG W RUSTENBURG, ABOUT EIGHT MILES WEST OF NORTHAM.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

North-West(province)

South Africa(country)

Africa(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
South Africa North-West

Comments on the location information

  • This point is just one of several shafts that access the ore bodies. The ore is a large, tabular, shallow dipping easterward body.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
PGE Critical Primary
Platinum Critical Primary
Palladium Critical Primary
Rhodium Critical Primary
Gold Primary
Ruthenium Critical Secondary
Iridium Critical Secondary
Osmium Secondary
Nickel Critical Secondary
Copper Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chromite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Graphite Ore
Millerite Ore
Pentlandite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sperrylite Ore

Analytical data

Result ORE = PT 60%, PD 27%, RU 5%, RH 2.7%, IR .7%, OS .6%, AU 4% (TYPICAL ORE)

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 4
USGS model code 2b
Deposit model name Merensky Reef PGE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro > Norite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Peridotite > Harzburgite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) 27.16139, -24.94087

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description "Potholes" = Basin - Shaped Depression In Reef, "Koppies" = Dome Shaped Structure In Reef

Ore body information

  • Strike N 40 DEG E
    Dip 21 DEG SE
    Thickness 6.1M
  • Name Merensky Reef
    General form tabular
    Area 6100HA
  • Name UG2 chromitite reef
    General form tabular
    Area 6100HA

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Intrusive Sheet

Comments on the geologic information

  • To calculate the remaining resource area for Merensky Reef, subtract 2000 hectares from area in Orebody table. To calculate the remaining UG2 Chromitite resources, subtract 1000 hectares from the area in the Orebody table. This will yield the surface dimensions. Given the dip angle, the real surface of the reefs is larger.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1924

Mining district

District name Rustenburg District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Rustenburg Platinum Mines, Ltd.
    Home office Rustenburg, R.S.A.
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Anglo Platinum
    Interest 100
    Home office South Africa
    Year 2010

Production statistics

  • Year 2008
    Material 314,069 ounces Pt
    Accuracy Accurate
  • Year 2009
    Material 297,814 ounces Pt
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Primary Platinum PGE 4g/mt

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Name Merensky Reef
    Estimate year 2010
    Proved 700000metric tons
    Probable 100000metric tons
    Measured 26800000metric tons
    Indicated 35800000metric tons
    Inferred 29300000metric tons
    Remarks Anglo Platinum reports values as "exclusive" i.e. "Mineral Resources are quoted exclusive of Ore Reserves" There are different grades for each category so there is not way to fill in the detail records. Proved 4E grade is 5.53 g/t, probable 4E grade is 6.57 g/t, measured 4E grade is 6.44 g/t, indicated 4E grade is 6.18 g/t, inferred 4E grade is 6.27 g/t. Prill splits are 63.5% Pt, 28% Pd, 5.4% Rh, 2.7% Au. Each resource class must be calculated differently because the grades are different. In this case they would have to be calculated outside of MRDS because it is not designed for this complexity.
  • Type In-situ
    Name UG2 Chromitite reef
    Estimate year 2010
    Proved 34900000metric tons
    Probable 18100000metric tons
    Measured 44400000metric tons
    Indicated 40600000metric tons
    Inferred 55400000metric tons
    Remarks Anglo Platinum reports values as "exclusive" i.e. "Mineral Resources are quoted exclusive of Ore Reserves" There are different grades for each category so there is not way to fill in the detail records. Proved 4E grade is 3.77 g/t, probable 4E grade is 3.73 g/t, measured 4E grade is 5.61 g/t, indicated 4E grade is 5.53 g/t, inferred 4E grade is 5.53 g/t. Prill splits are 59.7% Pt, 29% Pd, 11.2% Rh, 0.5% Au.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Anglo Platinum Limited (2010), p. 121. A new resource evaluation was done in 2009. "During 2008 an exploration drilling programme in the structural complex north-eastern portion of Union Mine (Grootkuil area) showed that the Merensky Reef did not extend as far as the original assessment of the aeromagnetic survey suggested....Additional exploration drilling during 2009 intersected more highly complex structures". "re-evaluation resulted in increased geological losses and a slight decrease in dip amounts..."

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 3620.93M
    Overall depth 213.36M

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-75 Blair, Will N. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-APR-88 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 28-SEP-10 Causey, J. Douglas U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.