Target

Geology

The Target operations are located at the northern extent of the Free State Goldfields, some 20 km north of Welkom. The reefs currently exploited are the Elsburg – Dreyerskuil conglomerates, which form a wedge-shaped stacked package, comprising 35 separate reef horizons, often separated by quartzite beds. The Elsburg Reefs are truncated by an unconformity surface at the base of the overlying Dreyerskuil Member. Below the subcrop, the Elsburg dips steeply to the east,with dips becoming progressively shallower down dip. Close to the suboutcrop, the thickness of the intervening quartzites reduces, resulting in the Elsburg Reefs coalescing to form composite reef packages that are exploited by massive mining techniques at Target Mine. The Dreyerskuil also consists of stacked reefs dipping shallowly to the east. These reefs tend to be less numerous, but more laterally extensive than the underlying Elsburg Reefs. The Big Pebble Reefs, A Reef, B Reef and Basal Reef have been exploited at the old Lorraine shafts in the past and potential exists for opening up these old areas.