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Mining in South Africa

Mining in South Africa has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1866 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the Kimberley pipes a few years later. Gold rushes to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton were precursurs to the biggest discovery of all, the Main Reef/Main Reef Leader on the Oosthuizen's farm Langlaagte in 1886 and the consequent rapid development of the Witwatersrand gold field, the biggest of them all.

Diamond and gold production may now be well down from their peaks, though S A is still no 2 in gold but South Africa remains a cornucopia of mineral riches. It is the world's largest producer of chrome, manganese, platinum, vanadium and vermiculite. It is the second largest producer of ilmenite, palladium, rutile and zirconium. It is also the world's third largest coal exporter and produces both nickel and copper.

History
The first significant mining to take place in South Africa was probably at the Namaqualand copper mines, north of Cape town and close to the Namibian border. Dutch colonists are said to have found the deposits in 1685 but it was not until 1852 that a company was formed to exploit them. Then came the discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West, shortly to be annexed by the British and now part of the northern Cape province. Anecdotal evidence puts the first discovery in 1859 but the first authenticated discovery was that by the young Erasmus Jacobs in the banks of the Orange River in 1866 of the 21.25 carat Eureka diamond, now on show in the Kimberley Museum. A rush soon developed, prospectors moved away from the alluvial deposits on the river and in quick sucession found six kimberlite pipes and the South African diamond industry was born.

The next main development was gold. The Boer Republics had a love-hate relationship with the metal. They were broke and therefore wanted the money but they feared, rightly, that a major discovery would bring in hordes of foreigners, including the hated British who had a nasty habit of annexing anything that looked interesting. The first discovery in the Transvaal was said to have been mde by an Englishman, John Henry Davis, who is said to have found gold in 1852 at Paardekraal near Krugersdorp which he is said to have sold to the republican government for £600, but subsequent events have cast doubt on this story. The second was Pieter Jacob Marais, Cape born but with mining experience in California and Australia. He panned a small "tail" of gold from the Jukskei River, which flows north from where Johannesburg now stands, and as a result became the republic's official gold prospector, albeit with the condition of death if he were to divulge any information about gold to a foreign power.

In the meantime in 1873 four prospectors found gold on the farm Hendriksdal in the Lydenburg district of the eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga) where Sabie stands today. This was followed by several more strikes and a rush started. The journey was terrible. From inland the wagons crashed down the steep slopes of the Mauchberg and those that came in by sea via Lorenco Marques (Maputo) were ravaged by malaria, the tsetse fly and wild animals. Eventually one digger struck north and found Pilgrim's Rest, whose streambed yielded at least £1.5 million in gold over the next four years.

Prospecting continued in and around the Witwatersrand with little success except for an Australian digger who in 1874 reported 'a large deposit of alluvial gold' on the farm Blaaubank 43 miles west of the Witwatersrand. It was neither large or alluvial but a quartz lode but with sufficient values to warrant the formation of the 'Nil Desperandum Co-Operative Quartz Company', the first mining company to be formed anywhere near the future Johannesburg.

However the next big strike was to be the discovery in 1882 of the De Kaap/Barberton field in the Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga) by one of the discoverers of the Sabie/Pilgrim's Rest field, Tom McLachlan. Another rush gathered pace and some of the discoveries were spectacular, culminating in Edwin Bray's 'Golden Quarry' where the ore yielded 7 ounces per ton. The richness of the ore and inaccessibility of the area were a godsend to the company promoter and over one hundred companies, mostly worthless, were listed on the Barberton stock exchange in 1885. The end soon came when most of the reefs were shown to be shallow and soon worked out and the resultant crash was serious.

Finally the prospectors fossicking around the Witwatersrand finally found the Main Reef Series, the principal gold bearing reefs of the area. Part of the reason for the delay was that the gold was in a rather unexpected form in a quartz pebble conglomerate that became known as 'banket' after the almond studded Dutch sweet of the same name. There is considerable uncertainty over who was the first discoverer. It is generally assumed to have been George Walker, an itinerant handyman but later research is said to have found that it was his partner, the mason George Harrison, that received a discoverer's claim. Yet another George, Honeyball, a blacksmith by trade, reappeared rather later and was found to have had an original claim as well. All that we can be sure of is that the man who found the Rand was called George.

The initial discovery was on Laanglaagte was followed by the tracing of the reef over a distance of nearly 40 miles (anout 60 km)from the Randfontein mine to what was to become the East Rand Proprietary Mines. A short while later, in 1889, the reef was discovered several miles to the east at Nigel and Modderfontein and the giant East Rand Basin was found and developed.

History
Diamond and gold discoveries played an important part in the growth of the early South African Republic. A site northeast of Cape Town was discovered to have rich deposits of diamonds, and thousands rushed to the area of Kimberley in an attempt to profit from the discovery. The British later annexed the region of Griqualand West, an area which included the diamond fields. In 1868, the republic attempted to annex areas near newly discovered goldfields, drawing protests from the nearby British colonial government. These annexations later led to the First Boer War of 1880-1881.

Gold was discovered in the area known as Witwatersrand, triggering what would become the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886. Like the diamond discoveries before, the gold rush caused thousands of foreign expatriates to descend on the region. This heightened political tensions in the area, ultimately contributing to the Second Boer War in 1899. Ownership of the diamond and gold mines became concentrated in the hands of a few entrepreneurs, largely of European origin, known as the Randlords.

The gold mining industry continued to grow throughout much of the early 20th century, significantly contributing to the tripling of the economic value of what was then known as the Union of South Africa. In particular, revenue from gold exports provided sufficient capital to purchase much-needed machinery and petroleum products to support an expanding manufacturing base. As the era of apartheid began in 1948, the mining industry benefited from inexpensive black labour.

Modern industry
As of 2007, the South African mining industry employs 493,000 workers The industry represents 18% of South Africa's $588 Billion USD Gross Domestic Product.

Gold
South Africa had, to the end of 2006 produced no less than 33 percent of the estimated total world production of gold of 153,000 tonnes. The peak year was 1970 when 1000.4 tonnes of metal were produced and came in the middle of a purple patch between 1963 and 1973 when production remained above 800 tonnes p.a. It was a period when the really rich new mines like West Driefontein, Blyvooruitzicht, Western Deep Levels, Free State Geduld and Western Holdings were at peak production. Since then the really rich areas have been depleted and the higher gold price coupled with the weak rand have made millions of tonnes of lowgrade ore payable, grades have fallen drastically and gold production has dropped to nearly a quarter of its peak

The extreme depth of the South African gold mines is largely due to a fortuitous combination of a strong quartzite country rock and a low geothermal gradient of around 1 degree F per 200 feet (1 degree C per 110 metres) compared with the more normal 1 degree F per 60 feet (1 degree C per 33 metres). Nevertheless, rock temperatures are still very high at depth and extensive use is made of refrigeration in various ways

Gold
South Africa accounted for 15% of the world's gold production in 2002 and 12% in 2005, though the nation had produced as much as 30% of world output as recently as 1993. Despite declining production, South Africa's gold exports were valued at $3.8 Billion USD in 2005. Almost 50% of the world's gold reserves are found in South Africa.

Among the nation's gold mines are two of the deepest mines in the world. The East Rand Mine, in Boksburg, extends to a depth of 3585 m. A 4 m shallower mine is located at TauTona in Carletonville, though plans are in place to begin work on an extension to the TauTona mine, bringing the total depth to over 3900 m and breaking the current record by 127 ft.

On 25 January 2008 some of the largest gold mines suspended operations, after state power supplier Eskom said it could not guarantee supplies.

Diamonds
Ever since the Kimberley diamond strike of 1868, South Africa has been a world leader in diamond production. The primary South African sources of diamonds, including seven large diamond mines around the country, are controlled by the De Beers Consolidated Mines Company. In 2003, De Beers operations accounted for 94% of the nation's total diamond output of 11900000 carat. This figure includes both gem stones and industrial diamonds. Diamond production rose in 2005 to over 15800000 carat.

Platinum,Palladium and the Platinum Group Metals
South Africa is the world's largest producer of platinum and a major producer of the other Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)including palladium and rhodium. Demand has risen sharply in recent years, largely as a result of the use of the above three metals in internal combustion exhaust catalysts, its increasing use in jewellery and in many specialised industrial applications.

The first mines to recover platinum in South Africa were several large East Rand gold mines, followed small scale mining of platinum bearing quartz veins near Naboomspruit. In 1926 A F Lombaard panned native platinum on his farm in the Lydenburg district. Hans Merensky realised the importance of this discovery, discovered its source in the Bushveld Igneous Complex. At present PGMs are mined from three horizons, the original Merensky Reef, the UG2 chromitite layer below the Merensky Reef and the Platreef, which occurs at the base the Complex and occurs only on the northern limb of the Complex. Small quantities of PGMs are also being produced form the Witatersrand gold mines, Palabora copper mine and a small nickel mine.

At present there are no less than 18 producing mines

South Africa produces more platinum and similar metals than any other nation. In 2005, 78% of the world's platinum was produced in South Africa, along with 39% of the world's palladium. Over 163000 kg of platinum were produced in 2005, generating export revenues of $3.82 Billion USD.

Chromium
Chromium is another leading product of South Africa's mining industry. The metal, used in stainless steel and for a variety of industrial applications, is mined at 10 sites around the country. South Africa's production of Chromium accounted for 39% of the world's total production in 2005, and consisted of 7490000 MT of material.

Working conditions
Conditions on most South African mines are very similar to those elsewhere except for the gold mines where a low geothermal gradient, i.e. the rate at which the temperature goes up with depth, often as low a 9 degrees C per km. depth (compared with a world average of about 25 degrees C ), combined with narrow and very continuous orebodies in hard and competent rocks makes it possible to mine to depths unattainable elsewhere in the world.

Silica dust is an everpresent potential hazard so that all drilling dust and loose rock has to be wetted down at all times to prevent silicosis, a lethal desease that attacks the lungs. Unfortunately the narrowness of the inclined reefs/orebodies prevents mechanisation except in a very few cases and most work is very labour intensive. Ventilation requirements to keep working conditions tolerable are huge and a survey of the South African gold mines indicated that the average quantity of ventilating air circulated was some 6 cubic m per second per 1000 ton of rock mined per month.

Another serious problem is that of heat. In the deeper mines refrigeration of the intake air is often necessary to keep conditions tolerable and this is now becoming necessary on some platinum mines which, although shallower, have a lower geothermal gradient. Refrigeration is very energy hungry and it is currently a moot point whether ESCOM, the state power company, can supply the necessary power after its recent problems, which will cut power supplies to 90% of previous levels until at least 2012, when a new powerstation is ready .

The South African mining industry is frequently criticized for its poor safety record and high number of fatalities but conditions are improving. Total fatalities were 533 in 1995 and had fallen to 199 in 2006. The overall fatality rate in 2006 was 0.43 per 1,000 per annum but this hides some important differences. The gold mining rate was 0.71, platinum mining was 0.24 and other mining was 0.35. (For comparison, the rate in the Sixties was around 1.5 - see any Chamber of Mines Annual of the period). The reason for the difference is quite clear; the gold mines are much deeper and conditions are both more difficult and dangerous than on the shallower platinum mines.

Falls of ground dominated the causes at 72, machinery, transportation and mining accidents caused 70 and the remainder were classed as general. Of the falls of ground, approximately two thirds were on the deep gold mines, a reflection of the extreme pressure at depth and continual movement of to country rock. Amongst the machinery, mining and transportation fatalities were working on grizzlies without safety belts, working below loose rock in orepasses, getting crushed by that deadly combination of a loco and a ventilation door frame (the clearance between the two is only a few inches) and working on running conveyors, all direct contraventions of safety instructions. Drilling into misfires was also mentioned, a clear example of sloppy and unsafe mining.

It is difficult to see how falls of ground can be eliminated given their frequent unpredictability, which is increasing with depth, and the difficulties in providing continuous roof support as on longwall coal mines due to the violence of a face blast in the hard rock of the gold mines but clearly much can be done to improve training and to instill a sense of safe working practice in the miners, many of whom are relatively inexperienced.

Mine safety received considerable publicity inn 2007, particularly after 3,200 workers were temporarily trapped underground at the Elandskraal mine after a compressed air pipe ruptured due to internal corrosion, broke lose and fell into the manhoisting shaft. The workers were ventually rescued through the rock hoisting shaft after the blasting smoke had cleared. The incident caused South African President Thabo Mbeki to mandate full safety audits for all operating mines. This audit has caused additional facilities to shut down temporarily, including the nation's largest gold mine located at Driefontein.

2007 strike
In 2007 the South African National Union of Mineworkers, which represents the nation's mineworkers, engaged in a series of talks with the Chamber of Mines, an industry group. The meetings also saw the participation of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, a body with mediation authority over the dispute. On November 27, 2007, the National Union of Mineworkers announced that South African mineworkers would go on strike to protest at unsafe working conditions. The strike took place on December 4, and impacted over 240,000 workers at 60 sites across the country, including mines devoted to the production of gold, platinum, and coal.

Issues of mine safety have received increased scrutiny during 2007, in large part due to multiple worker deaths. During 2006, 199 workers were killed during workplace accidents, and 191 have been killed during 2007 as of 23 November, 2007. One incident on 4 October, 2007 resulted in 3,200 workers being trapped for several hours. The incident, located at the Elandsrad mine of Harmony Gold Company, caused South African President Thabo Mbeki to mandate full safety audits for all operating mines. This audit has caused additional facilities to shut down, including the nation's largest gold mine located at Driefontein.

The South African National Union of Mineworkers, which represents the nation's mineworkers, has engaged in a series of talks with the Chamber of Mines, an industry group. The meetings have also seen the participation of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, a body with mediation authority over the dispute. On 27 November, 2007, the commission approved a one-day strike for 4 December. The strike affected an estimated 240,000 workers at 60 sites across the country, including mines devoted to the production of gold, platinum, and coal.