From Aspirin to “the Bin” in a Mere 85 years

The worldwide demand for platinum over the past decade together with the high costs of borehole drilling at ever-increasing depths, have provided the impetus and experimental latitude that have led to vast improvements in the acquisition, processing and interpretation of surface seismic reflection data. This short paper provides a brief overview of the historical development of the technique as applied to the Bushveld Complex from the point it was first introduced for the acquisition of two-dimensional (2-D) seismic sections, to its current high-resolution application and integration into the mine-planning process. The early 2-D data sections are compared to data derived from the most recent three-dimensional (3-D) volumes acquired for Impala Platinum and Lonmin Platinum. The discussion covers the geophysical lessons learnt as well as the challenges and limitations that are currently faced in providing accurate structural models of the target reefs. Since the first interpretation of high-resolution data, significant advances have been made in the understanding (and hence recognition) of important geological features and their associated seismic signatures. These findings are presented with focus on the improved delineation of iron-rich ultramafic pegmatoids and slump structures. Examples of the effective integration of aeromagnetic, wireline and seismic data are also illustrated.