Flexural-slip structures in the bushveld complex, South Africa?

This paper investigates structures in the layered Critical Zone of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa that have detrimentally affected mining operations. The common structures are layer-parallel faults with reverse dip-slip and ramp faults with curved slip planes and prominent striations. Geometric variations include duplex ramps contained within floor and roof layer-parallel faults and linking ramps connecting separate layer-parallel faults hidden in the footwall and hangingwall. The orientations, geometries, displacements and shear senses of the layer-parallel faults and ramp faults are interpreted to be flexural-slip structures formed during bending of the originally horizontal Bushveld Complex into a basin-fold geometry during crustal loading. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.