The Archaean Geology of the Kaapvaal Craton, Southern Africa

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. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv 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 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 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 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 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 The Moodies Group—a High-Resolution Archive of Archaean Surface Processes and Basin-Forming Mechanisms (Christoph Heubeck)....Pages 133-169 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt: A Review (Andrea Agangi, Axel Hofmann, Benjamin Eickmann, Johanna Marin-Carbonne)....Pages 171-184 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 The Pongola Supergroup: Mesoarchaean Deposition Following Kaapvaal Craton Stabilization (Casey Luskin, Allan Wilson, Digby Gold, Axel Hofmann)....Pages 225-254 The Witwatersrand Basin and Its Gold Deposits (Hartwig E. Frimmel)....Pages 255-275 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