More than 30 years ago, Cox and Singer ( 1986 ) suggested that magmatic platinum-group element (PGE)-Ni-Cu deposits are amongst the best understood of ore deposits, yet the origin of PGE mineralization in the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) remains controversial after a century of study. In the northern limb of the BIC, the unravelling of ore formation proved particularly difficult due to relatively poor outcrop, which is typically affected by contamination of the intruding magmas with the host rocks and expressed in the form of abundant xenoliths, footwall rafts and disturbance of magmatic stratigraphy. In this thematic issue, we present contributions on the Flatreef, a recently discovered world-class PGE-Ni-Cu deposit constituting a downdip extension of the mineralized unit of the Platreef of the northern limb. Two deep shafts are currently being sunk, making the Flatreef one of the most significant new mine development on the Bushveld in several decades.

中文翻译：

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布什维尔德火成岩杂岩体北翼 Flatreef PGE-Ni-Cu 矿床专刊介绍

30 多年前，Cox 和 Singer (1986) 提出岩浆铂族元素 (PGE)-Ni-Cu 矿床是对矿床了解最清楚的矿床之一，但它是布什维尔德火成岩杂岩 (BIC) 中 PGE 矿化的起源经过一个世纪的研究，仍然存在争议。在 BIC 的北翼，由于露头相对较差，成矿的解体特别困难，这通常受到侵入岩浆与主岩的污染的影响，表现为丰富的捕虏体、下盘筏和扰动岩浆地层学。在本专题中，我们介绍了对 Flatreef 的贡献，这是最近发现的世界级 PGE-Ni-Cu 矿床，构成北翼 Platreef 矿化单元的下倾延伸。