Gold And Diamonds In South Africa

Prospectors established in 1886 the existence of a belt of gold bearing reefs 40 miles 60 km wide centred on present day johannesburg.

Gold and diamonds in south africa.

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. Mining in south africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of africa s most advanced and richest economy. As the predominantly agrarian societies of european south africa began to urbanize and industrialize the region evolved into a major supplier of precious minerals to the world economy. New towns were established to accommodate the huge influx of people.

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. 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. Kimberley mine in 1873 only a few years after the digging for diamonds started discovery of gold and diamonds in south africa when gold was discovered in the eastern transvaal pilgrim s rest mac mac waterfalls and barberton a similar process took place. Immigration urbanization capital investment and labour migrancy.

The rapid growth of the gold mining industry intensified processes started by the diamond boom. Savuka gold mine is the third deepest mine in the world reaching depths of close to 4km. South africa south africa gold mining. 27 76 171 5869.

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. Midway between these dates in 1886 the world s largest goldfields were discovered on the witwatersrand. South africa table of contents.