NOOB
8th April 2011, 02:35 PM
Gold has long been one of mankind’s most prized possessions. Yet most people have little idea where gold comes from, other than from “gold mines.”
Mining gold today often becomes monumental undertakings, truly some of man’s greatest engineering feats. Imagine gold mining shafts nearly two and a half miles below the surface and it taking two hours for miners to get to their work stations. Imagine a pit so large that it can be seen from outer space.
No reason to imagine, those are the realities in the mining of gold revealed in “The World’s 10 Most Prolific Gold Fields.”
1. Witwatersrand Basin (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Witwatersrand Basin Gold Field
The head frame of the Tau Tona Mine is the lone entrance to over 500 miles of tunnels.
Located in South Africa, the Witwatersrand Basin represents the richest gold field ever discovered. It is estimated the 40% of all of the gold ever mined has come out of the Basin. In 1970, South Africa’s output accounted for 79% of the world’s gold production. By 2009, South Africa’s share of world gold production had dropped to less than 8%.
Mining in the Witwatersrand Basin is accomplished by creating deep underground tunnels that are necessary to reach the plentiful reserves. The Tau Tona Mine features the deepest tunnel in the world extending a full 2.4 miles below the earth’s surface. A massive ventilation and air conditioning system is required to overcome the extreme working conditions throughout the over 500 miles of tunnels. At its deepest levels, the air temperature reaches 131 F and the rock face itself 140 F. The mine is so extensive that it takes workers a full two hours to travel from the surface to the deepest sections of the mine where they must then contend with pockets of lethal gas, water and a continual barrage of small earthquakes.
Witwatersrand Basin Gold Bars
The discovery of gold in the Basin in 1886 by Australian miner George Walker set off one of the largest gold rushes in history. The surrounding area became the city of Johannesburg, and within ten years Johannesburg was the largest city in South Africa. The huge influx of foreigners (mostly British) created resentment among the Boer (prior Dutch settlers). Imposition of heavy taxes and restriction of voting rights by the Boer led to the Second Boer War in 1899.
Sources
http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/af/sa/p0005.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold
http://siowwf.blogspot.com/2009/05/tautona-deepest-gold-mine-in-world.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witwatersrand_Gold_Rush
National Geographic documentary Megastructures: Tau Tona City of Gold.
Kitco.com
http://www.cmi-gold-silver.com/blog/10-most-prolific-gold-fields-in-the-world/
Mining gold today often becomes monumental undertakings, truly some of man’s greatest engineering feats. Imagine gold mining shafts nearly two and a half miles below the surface and it taking two hours for miners to get to their work stations. Imagine a pit so large that it can be seen from outer space.
No reason to imagine, those are the realities in the mining of gold revealed in “The World’s 10 Most Prolific Gold Fields.”
1. Witwatersrand Basin (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Witwatersrand Basin Gold Field
The head frame of the Tau Tona Mine is the lone entrance to over 500 miles of tunnels.
Located in South Africa, the Witwatersrand Basin represents the richest gold field ever discovered. It is estimated the 40% of all of the gold ever mined has come out of the Basin. In 1970, South Africa’s output accounted for 79% of the world’s gold production. By 2009, South Africa’s share of world gold production had dropped to less than 8%.
Mining in the Witwatersrand Basin is accomplished by creating deep underground tunnels that are necessary to reach the plentiful reserves. The Tau Tona Mine features the deepest tunnel in the world extending a full 2.4 miles below the earth’s surface. A massive ventilation and air conditioning system is required to overcome the extreme working conditions throughout the over 500 miles of tunnels. At its deepest levels, the air temperature reaches 131 F and the rock face itself 140 F. The mine is so extensive that it takes workers a full two hours to travel from the surface to the deepest sections of the mine where they must then contend with pockets of lethal gas, water and a continual barrage of small earthquakes.
Witwatersrand Basin Gold Bars
The discovery of gold in the Basin in 1886 by Australian miner George Walker set off one of the largest gold rushes in history. The surrounding area became the city of Johannesburg, and within ten years Johannesburg was the largest city in South Africa. The huge influx of foreigners (mostly British) created resentment among the Boer (prior Dutch settlers). Imposition of heavy taxes and restriction of voting rights by the Boer led to the Second Boer War in 1899.
Sources
http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/af/sa/p0005.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold
http://siowwf.blogspot.com/2009/05/tautona-deepest-gold-mine-in-world.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witwatersrand_Gold_Rush
National Geographic documentary Megastructures: Tau Tona City of Gold.
Kitco.com
http://www.cmi-gold-silver.com/blog/10-most-prolific-gold-fields-in-the-world/