Open Journal of Geology, 2016, 6, 302-313
Published Online May 2016 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojg
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2016.65026
How to cite this paper: Bamisaiye, O.A., Eriksson, P.G., Van Rooy, J.L., Brynard, H.M. and Foya, S. (2016) Geo-Spatial Map-
ping of the Northern Bushveld Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS) in South Africa. Open Journal of Geology, 6, 302-313.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2016.65026
Geo-Spatial Mapping of the Northern
Bushveld Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS)
in South Africa
O. A. Bamisaiye
1*
, P. G. Eriksson
1
, J. L. Van Rooy
1
, H. M. Brynard
2
, S. Foya
2
1
Department of Geology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2
Council for Geoscences, Pretoria, South Africa
Received 5 November 2015; accepted 27 May 2016; published 30 May 2016
Copyright © 2016 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
The focus of this paper is on determination of the geometry and stratigraphic contact pattern of
the Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS) in the Northern Bushveld Complex area using available bore-
hole data and trend surface analysis technique. This technique was used to analyse over one hun-
dred borehole log data in the Northern Bushveld Complex in order to describe the geometric pat-
tern and trends of the RLS rocks. The results demonstrate the usefulness of this technique in iden-
tifying structural features. Regional trends of each of the stratigraphic units reveal the presence of
regional structures that were not obvious at the surface. This first part of the paper focused on the
Northern Bushveld Complex, while the second and the third part focused on the eastern and west-
ern Bushveld limbs respectively.
Keywords
Northern Bushveld Complex, Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS), Regional Trends, Residual
Structures, Igneous Layering, Trend Surface Analysis
1. Introduction
The Rustenburg Layered Suite (RLS) form laterally continues layers that can be correlated across the various
limbs of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Despite years of exploration and research in the Northern Bushveld
Complex, some important subsurface features that could be relevant to mineral exploration in the area are still
not well understood. Trend surface analysis was used to highlight positive and negative residual domains at the
*
Corresponding author.