Significance of 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the Merensky cyclic unit of the Bushveld Complex

In a number of mafic layered intrusions, layers with platinum group element (PGE) mineralization coincide with breaks in cumulus mineral composition and isotopic variation trends through the layered sequence1,2. For example, in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, abrupt increases in initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios occur at the UG-2 and Merensky pegmatoid (or ‘reef’) horizons, both of which are exploited for PGEs. We report here the results of a detailed Sr-isotope study across the Merensky unit and its immediate foot- and hangingwall-rocks which, when considered together with new ideas on processes operating in magma chambers3–5, suggest that magma mixing and post-cumulus infiltration of liquids displaced from below were important during crystallization of the Merensky pegmatoid