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BushveldDB

Geochemical data from the Bushveld Complex

The Bushveld Complex is one of the great geological formations in the world, generating high academic interest as the world's largest layered intrusion, and representing one of the World's most important mining districts, holding massive reserves of platinum, chrome and many other base and precious metal commodities. Over the years, a vast amount of data has been generated in theses, company reports and scientific studies, many of which have not been published. It is estimated that worldwide, over 800 theses and over 10,000 research publications have been produced on the Bushveld Complex, many containing a large amounts of especially geochemical, but also structural and geochronological data. Little of these data are accessible from a centralized facility providing easy access to the data for global anaysis of, for example, mineral exploration or magma emplacement models.

EarthChem is partnering with the Economic Geology Research Institute in the School of Geosciences at  the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, the Council for Geoscience, South Africa, and AngloPlatinum, the world's largest platinum producer with major interests in the Bushveld Complex, to build a database of geochemical data for the Bushveld Complex, called the BushveldDB. This open source database built from published data will be an invaluable resource for the South African and global geological research community, and the mining and exploration industry.

Partnership with AfricaArray

The development of the BushveldDB is a collaborative effort between the Geoinformatics for Geochemistry (GfG) Program at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and AfricaArray, a US-South African initiative to promote coupled training and research programs for building and maintaining a scientific workforce for Africa's natural resource sector, by developing shared, public-domain data sets.  Concepts, designs, and expertise of the GfG Program will be applied to build the geochemical data management systems through which Africa Array will promote research and training of African scientists and students as  a central activity of this initiative.

Read about Bushveld DB in the June 2008 Africa Array Newsletter

Bushveld geological map courtesy of Sue Webb