Gold And Diamonds In South Africa

Immigration urbanization capital investment and labour migrancy.

Gold and diamonds in south africa.

South africa table of contents. South randfontein 1764 sa. South africa s modern history has often been dated from the first commercial mining of diamonds and gold in the 1870s and the 1880s when the region became a magnet for european investment see diamonds. Mining in south africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of africa s most advanced and richest economy.

Midway between these dates in 1886 the world s largest goldfields were discovered on the witwatersrand. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the orange river in 1867 by erasmus jacobs and the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the kimberley pipes a few years later. Mining in the region predated european arrivals by several centuries however as the new government recalled in its minerals policy statements in 1994 and 1995. Prospectors established in 1886 the existence of a belt of gold bearing reefs 40 miles 60 km wide centred on present day johannesburg.

It is located in gauteng south africa and belongs to anglogold ashanti. Gold rushes to pilgrim s rest and barberton were precursors to the biggest discovery of all the main reef main reef leader on gerhardus oosth. Gold and imperialist intervention 1870 1902 south africa experienced a transformation between 1870 when the diamond rush to kimberley began and 1902 when the south african war ended. New towns were established to accommodate the huge influx of people.

The rapid growth of the gold mining industry intensified processes started by the diamond boom. South africa south africa gold mining. Savuka gold mine is the third deepest mine in the world reaching depths of close to 4km.