Gold Mining in South Africa

Gold Mining in South Africa

South Africa Gold Mining

 

Gold Mining in South Africa; South Africa is a home for some of the world’s largest gold mines covering about 4.2% of the world’s production of Gold or precious metals.

The Witwatersrand basin is one of the largest mineral deposits in the world and it contains the majority of SA’s gold resources.

The discovery of gold in the late 19th century led to a gold rush that sparked the development of Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s capitals, and was crucial in the development of the country’s economy and growth during the 20th century.

In 2019, the mining of gold contributed approximately $23.9 billion to Country’s GDP. Buy Gold Bars from South Africa Today!

Gold Mining in South Africa – Most of the country’s gold resources are located in the Witwatersrand Basin, one of the world’s largest gold placer deposits.

The underground geological formation surfacing in the Witwatersrand is a 56 kilometer-long north-facing escarpment running from east to west. It begins in Bedfordview in the Gauteng Province’s East Rand, through Johannesburg and Roodepoort, to Krugersdorp, both in Gauteng’s West rand.

Gold is also found in the Free State and the North West Provinces.

In South Africa, mining of gold is typically involving methods like panning, sluicing, dredging, hard rock mining and by-product mining. The most effective method used is hard rock mining because reserves are typically encased in deep underground rock.

There are 86 gold mines in South Africa and these include: 41 underground mines

  • 10 surface mines
  • 5 surface/underground
  • 30 undefined mines.