There is a large economic impact of diamond mining in south africa as diamonds provide a lot of money to the economy, which provides better living conditions. As africas largest online mining information service, africa mining iq is the definitive resource for diamond mining in south africa, providing indepth analysis, project intelligence and key contact details for the countrys diamond mining projects. Its hard to say whether or not i would have been more absorbed in the book if it was the first thing i learned from this book is that i knew just about nothing about 19th century south africa. If this be true of the most famous and prolific of all diamond fields before the opening of the south african placers and mines, any delay in the revelation of the field in the heart of south africa may be easily understood. The future of mining in south africa mining deloitte. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The story of diamonds in south africa begins between december 1866 and february 1867 when 15yearold erasmus jacobs found a transparent rock on his fathers farm, on the south bank of the orange river. South africa accounts over 80% of known global reserves of the pgms. Search the history of over 422 billion web pages on the internet. Diamond mining in south africa intelligence and info africa. 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. Gold and diamond mines of south africa library of congress. Mining in south africa also changed the environment with deforestation, dams, rerouted rivers, abandoned open pit mines and the endangerment of 45 endemic plant species.
Sep 24, 2015 this diamond mining area, located in the namib desert of southwestern namibia, stretches from the atlantic coast in the west to about 100 km inland, from the orange river, on the border with south africa in the south, to 72 km north of luderitz. Meredith, a prolific writer about african mostly postcolonial history, covers southern africa from the discovery of diamonds through to 1910 and the union of south africa and so packs in a fasinating chunk of events and people diamond and gold rushes, zulu and boer wars, cecil rhodes and paul kruger. Mining companies in south africa need to begin to to realize the iportnace of innovation in order to be able to compete at a global level. Aditnow the definitive online resource for the mine explorer and mining historian mine explorer and mining history videos on youtube connect with other mine explorers on facebook. All about the kimberley diamond mine in south africa. It has been shown in the opening chapter of this work that fancy has still, and probably must forever have, a free range for its surmise when and how the first diamond crystal was picked from the rivershore wash of the indogangetic plain. The history of mining by michael coulson harriman house. In 1886, on the farm of langlaagte, the rapidly growing diamond industry was eclipsed by the discovery of gold. Environmental sustainability diamond mining in south africa. Mining grew with discovery of diamonds and increased with the discovery of gold. Why nonfiction books dominate bestseller lists in south africa. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The place is now a province in south home ancient greece history american history art history biography history of evolution famous people music history world history world war. First published in 1902, this work opens with a chapter on notable historical diamonds, and goes on to describe the initial discovery of diamonds in south africa, the development of mines, the mining methods adopted, the welfare of the miners and a history of the whole diamond producing region.
Keate then lieutenant governor of natal found in favour of waterboer. Diamond mining famous diamonds diamonds through the ages. Find highquality diamond mine stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. The diamond fields of southern africa johannesburg. By the 1880s, the mines around kimberley produced around 95% of the world diamonds. At kimberley visitors can view a 17minute movie about the location and the history of diamond mining in africa. We are a mining industry employers organisation which exists to serve our members and promote their interests in south africa. South africa is the worlds largest primary producer of platinum with a share of 75% of the global supply. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else.
This list of mines in south africa is subsidiary to the list of mines article and lists working, defunct and future mines in the country and is organised by the primary mineral output. Ernest oppenheimer and the economic development of southern africa cape town. Mining in south africa began with chance discovery of a diamond on the banks of the orange river in 1867. Were currently tracking over 40 diamond mines in south africa. This fuelled south africa s first major mineral rush, the consequent industrialised mineral exploitation of these deposits.
The diamond mines of south africa i gardner williams. Mining is south africas third largest business sector after agriculture and manufacturing contributing almost 10% to the countrys gdp. Maximum in rebus humanis, non solum inter gemmas, pretium. This page is about introduction of gold and diamond mines in south africa in 19th century, click here to get more infomation about introduction of gold and diamond mines in south africa in 19th century. Mining in south africa continues to transform the country to this day. Smith, transactions of the mining institute of scotland, vol. List of gold mines in south africa mine exploration. Miners in the robinson deep gold mine in kimberley, south africa, in 1939. Mineral resources and energy south african government. Wagner page images at hathitrust diamond mines of south africa 2 volumes.
The author describes the diamond fields in these two articles. Premier diamond mine in south africa library of congress. Largescale 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. Discover the best south african history in best sellers. South african mining, coal, gold and base minerals. Innovation will be the key for mining companies and should be implemented in every area of their operations. The harsh reality of life under apartheid in south africa history. This was especially true as diamond mining moved from the surface to farther underground. Searchable database of gold mines in south africa from aditnow, the leading online resource for mine explorers and mining historians. Diamond miners were memorialised in the diggers fountain, which you can find in kimberley.
The diamond zone was simultaneously claimed by the orange free state, the south african republic, the western griqua under nicolaas waterboer, and southern tswana chiefs. Mining was the original powerhouse of south africas economy, even as it fed its sharp inequality. Those companies all but enslaved black miners while enjoying massive wealth from the diamonds and gold they mined. They also get to walk out on a high platform to view the big hole, take a ride down a faux mining shaft, enter a locked vault to view genuine diamonds of all colors, and visit a small museum. A history of mining in south africa kindle edition by jade. For practical purposes stone, marble and other quarries may be included in this list. The library of congress does not own rights to material in its collections. A view of the kimberley diamond mine in south africa, taken from a booklet entitled, a short sketch of the african diamond mines, published in 1881 by alfred h. Englands battles with the boers in the transvaal, including an exhaustive history of the settlement of cape colony, wars with the kaffirs, matabeles, zulus, the diamond and gold mines of south africa and a history of exploration, discovery, conquest and development by all the famous travelers that have traversed the dark. Founded in 1958, clarkes specialises in africana and general antiquarian books, prints, maps and ephemera. Jan 01, 2007 so reading diamonds, gold, and war introduced me to a lot of people and places, and it got awfully confusing at times. It is first known to have been seen at the house of a dutch farmer named jacobs, in the northern limits of the cape colony, and south of the orange river.
The merensky reef, stretching from southern zimbabwe through to the rustenburg and pretoria regions, is the centre of platinum mining in south africa, playing host to companies such as rustenburg platinum mines and bafokeng rasimone platinum mines. Diamond mining in namibia past and present news from all. Diamonds today are mined in about 25 different countries but around 49% of diamonds come from south africa. In 2009 south africa was the fourth largest diamond industry in the world. The struggle for the gold mines labour supply, 18901920 jeeves, alan h. Mining has impacted the country of south africa making it number 2 in foreign exchange earner in the world. Celebrities memoirs or biographies, as well as history. History of diamond mines in south africa diamonds were first discovered in cape colony in the year 1867. The discovery of gold and diamonds transformed south africas trajectory. A chronology of key events in the history of south africa from 4thcentury. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. The diamond mines of south africa internet archive.
The diamond mines of south africa i gardner williams farlang. Pictures gold mining operations at the joch mine near johannesburg and diamond mining operations at the premier mine in the town of cullinan. South africa is the fourth largest diamond producer in the world. The importance of mining in limpopo is evident as it represents about % of south africas total mining sales of r50billion in an industry employing. Today south africa maintains its position as a major diamond producer. The diamond mines of south africa ii gardner williams farlang. The south african sources affected many segments of the diamond industry. Thereafter, there was a massive diamond rush to the area as miners and fortuneseekers streamed to kimberley from all over the world. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading digging deep. Brief history of diamond mining in south africa mining. Gold mining has become one the main factors to the growth of south africa.
I nstalled at the ernest oppenheimer memorial gardens in 1959, herman walds bronze sculpture portrays five men holding up a diamond sieve. Gold and diamond mines of south africa summary shows how gold and diamonds are extracted from the earth and processed in the province of transvaal in south africa. Mining in south africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of africa s most advanced and richest economy. There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. A history of mining in south africa kindle edition by davenport, jade.
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