Bushveld Complex is a 25,000-square-mile (65,000-square-kilometer) area of volcanic rocks in the central Transvaal region of South Africa. This geological feature is remarkable because of its mineral content and its economic importance. The world’s largest known deposits of chromium, platinum, and vanadium occur there. Other useful minerals mined in the area include copper, fluorite, iron, nickel, tin, and titanium. The area is called bushveld because of the type of vegetation growing there (see Veld).
The complex was formed about 2 billion years ago when huge masses of magma (molten rock) seeped through Earth’s crust. After it had cooled and solidified, it was covered, and changed by pressure. Today, the solidified rock is about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) thick in some areas.
