The History of Gold Mining in South Africa
Gold is one of the most precious metals in the world and South Africa is the richest in its reserves. It has around 40-50% gold share in the world, which amounts to be 40,000 tons. This makes mining the largest industry of South Africa, and thus, the economy depends heavily upon this industry.
Witwatersrand is the largest and famous gold reserve in South Africa. It all started way back in’67, when a diamond was accidentally discovered on the bank of the Orange River. Thousands and thousands of natives as well as foreign people rushed to the diamond and gold fields to profit from this business. The gold mining industry has flourished since then and continues to do so.
Gold mining was very similar to the mining of copper, iron and other metals. It was dug by hundreds of miners and then processed like iron or copper ore, i.e. it was smelted in the furnace. The resulting product was used in jewellery making or gold bars to be sued in barter trading.
Fortunately, the gold is evenly distributed in South Africa, thus, not much effort is required to find new deposits. The reserves are deep, but the ores are of low-grade, which means a little amount of gold is extracted after employing lot of labour and time, using the traditional method of extraction. In order to avoid this situation, MacArthur- Forrest Cyanide process was found by two scientists to separate gold.
Apart from this, the geological facts of deep reef mines are unbelievable. The rock gets harder as it gets deeper, and the thermal temperature rises above 50 degree Celsius which is simply impossible for a person to bear. In order to cool down the mines, huge quantities of water are required to pour in the mine, which is pumped back on the surface. New refrigerator system is being used nowadays, which employs tons of ice to bring down the heat in the mines, and make working conditions bearable. This method increases the production cost manifold.
Gold is formed in the rocks due to immense heat and pressure. With depth, the rocks get harder and the temperature rises above 50 Celsius, which is unbearable for humans to work in. New refrigeration system is being used nowadays, in which large amounts of cold water is poured into the mine, and then pumped out to the surface. This refrigeration system makes the working conditions a lot better, but also increases the cost of gold production.
It is obvious that gold mining is a business which requires lot of investment; thus, can be a profession of a rich man only. When gold was first discovered in SA, poor and rich flocked to do this business, but very soon they realized that it must be heavily financed, making the poor to sell their business to others. Foreign investors became the owners of gold mines and aborigines worked as labours in mines at very low wages. The aborigines were never given ownership of any mine; and till today, only 4% blacks have been hired at managerial levels. Millions of people were employed by this industry only in South Africa, thus, making a huge contribution to the economy of the country. It has not only made a lot of people rich but has also contributed in the exploitation of Africans, which led to many civil wars based on the issues of discrimination.
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