Zircon ages defining deposition of the Palaeoproterozoic Soutpansberg Group and further evidence for Eoarchaean crust in South Africa

The Soutpansberg rocks were deposited apparently over a lengthy period of time (ca. 230 Ma), as provided by the published age of 1604 Ma for pyroclastic rocks of the upper succession in Botswana. Zircon grain age spectra of our Soutpansberg samples show prominent peaks at 2.0, 2.6 and 3.2 Ga, indicating the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt as the source area, but excludes the adjacent northern part of the Kaapvaal Craton. The oldest zircon grain identified in the Soutpansberg samples has an age of 3937 ± 4 Ma, one of the oldest zircon grain ages yet reported from the African continent.