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Aim of this project
This project must not been seen as a project about just the mining industry in SA.
* It is to add the profiles of workers in mines to a project
* To dedicate all the workers, dead and alive, a occupational place in Geni and the history.
A short history of what different occupation they have done and are doing.
Mining industry of South Africa
Diamond and gold discoveries played an important part in the growth of the early South African economy. A site northeast of Cape Town was discovered to have rich deposits of diamonds, and thousands rushed to the area of Kimberley in an attempt to profit from the discovery. The British later annexed the region of Griqualand West, an area which included the diamond fields. In 1868, the republic attempted to annex areas near newly discovered diamond fields, drawing protests from the nearby British colonial government. These annexations later led to the First Boer War of 1880-1881.
Gold was discovered in the area known as Witwatersrand, triggering what would become the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886. Like the diamond discoveries before, the gold rush caused thousands of foreign expatriates to flock to the region. This heightened political tensions in the area ultimately contributing to the Second Boer War in 1899.[citation needed] Ownership of the diamond and gold mines became concentrated in the hands of a few entrepreneurs, largely of European origin, known as the Randlords. South Africa's and the world's biggest diamond miner, De Beers, was funded by baron Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild in 1887, and Cecil Rhodes became the Founding Chairman of the board of directors in 1888. Cecil Rhodes' place was later taken by sir Ernest Oppenheimer, co-founder of the Anglo-American Corporation with J.P. Morgan.
The gold mining industry continued to grow throughout much of the early 20th century, significantly contributing to the tripling of the economic value of what was then known as the Union of South Africa. In particular, revenue from gold exports provided sufficient capital to purchase much-needed machinery and petroleum products to support an expanding manufacturing base.
As of 2007, the South African mining industry employs 493,000 workers. The industry represents 18% of South Africa's $588 billion USD Gross Domestic Product.
Coal South Africa is the world's third largest coal exporter, and much of the country's coal is used for power production. (about 40%)[6] 77% of South Africa's energy needs are provided by coal.
Gold
South Africa accounted for 15% of the world's gold production in 2002[12] and 12% in 2005, though the nation had produced as much as 30% of world output as recently as 1993. Despite declining production, South Africa's gold exports were valued at $3.8 billion USD in 2005. The US Geological Survey estimated in that as of 2002, South Africa held about 50% of the world's gold resources, and 38% of reserves.
Among the nation's gold mines are two of the deepest mines in the world. The East Rand Mine, in Boksburg, extends to a depth of 3,585 metres (11,762 ft). A 4-metre (13 ft) shallower mine is located at TauTona in Carletonville, though plans are in place to begin work on an extension to the TauTona mine, bringing the total depth to over 3,900 metres (12,800 ft) and breaking the current record by 127 feet (39 m).] At these depths the temperature of the rocks is 140 °F (60 °C).
The gold in the Witwatersrand Basin area was deposited in ancient river deltas, having been washed down from surrounding gold-rich greenstone belts to the north and west. Rhenium-osmium isotope studies indicates that the gold in those mineral deposits came from unusual three billion year old mantle sourced intrusions known as komatiites present in the greenstone belts.] The Vredefort Dome impact which lies within the basin and the nearby Bushveld Igneous Complex are both about a billion years younger than the interpreted age of the gold
Diamonds
Ever since the Kimberley diamond strike of 1868, South Africa has been a world leader in diamond production.[citation needed] The primary South African sources of diamonds, including seven large diamond mines around the country, are controlled by the De Beers Consolidated Mines Company. In 2003, De Beers operations accounted for 94% of the nation's total diamond output of 11,900,000 carats (2.38 t). This figure includes both gem stones and industrial diamonds.[17] Diamond production rose in 2005 to over 15,800,000 carats (3.16 t).
Platinum and palladium
South Africa produces more platinum and similar metals than any other nation. In 2005, 78% of the world's platinum was produced in South Africa, along with 39% of the world's palladium. Over 163,000 kilograms (5,200,000 ozt) of platinum was produced in 2010, generating export revenues of $3.82 billion USD. Palladium is produced in two ways: recovery and mining production. Currently Russia and South Africa are the biggest palladium producers in the world.
Chromium
Chromium is another leading product of South Africa's mining industry. The metal, used in stainless steel and for a variety of industrial applications, is mined at 10 sites around the country. South Africa's production of chromium accounted for 100% of the world's total production in 2005, and consisted of 7,490,000 metric tons (7,370,000 long tons; 8,260,000 short tons) of material.
Uranium
South Africa has the second-largest reserves of uranium in the world.[20] The Nuclear Fuels Corporation of South Africa (NUFCOR) started processing uranium as a by-product of gold mining in 1967. Most of the uranium produced as a by-product of gold mining is concentrated in the golf fields of the Witwatersrand area. Uranium is more easily and readily available than gold in South Africa.
There are a number of mining companies that process uranium from mines that they own.
- Anglo Gold Ashanti,
- Sibayane Gold Ltd, Harmony Gold Mining Co.,
First Uranium, and Peninsula Energy own or control most of the uranium-from-gold mining processing plants in South Africa.
Though uranium production in South Africa showed a decrease from 711t in 2000 to 579t in 2010, in 2011 930t were produced with a forecast of 2,000t by 2020. In 2016, Tasman Pacific Minerals, owned by Peninsula Energy started plans to open the first uranium ore mine, Tasman
Working conditions
Conditions on most South African mines are very similar to those elsewhere except for the gold mines where the low geothermal gradient, i.e. the rate at which the temperature goes up with depth, is often as low as 9 °C per kilometre depth (compared with a world average of about 25 °C/km), and this, combined with narrow and very continuous orebodies in hard and competent rocks makes it possible to mine to depths unattainable elsewhere in the world.
The Rand Rebellion
The Rand Rebellion was a widespread strike amongst miners in the Witwatersrand area of the Transvaal Province in the former Union of South Africa.
2007 strike
In 2007 the South African National Union of Mineworkers, which represents the nation's mineworkers, engaged in a series of talks with the Chamber of Mines, an industry group. The meetings also saw the participation of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, a body with mediation authority over the dispute. On 27 November 2007, the National Union of Mineworkers announced that South African mineworkers would go on strike to protest at unsafe working conditions.The strike took place on 4 December, and impacted over 240,000 workers at 60 sites across the country, including mines devoted to the production of gold, platinum, and coal.
2012 Lonmin strike
The Lonmin strike was a strike in August 2012 in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa at a mine owned by Lonmin one of the world's largest primary producers of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). A series of violent confrontations occurred between platinum mine workers on strike and the South African Police Service on Thursday, 16 August 2012, and resulted in the deaths of 34 individuals (30 were miners and 4 protestors), as well as the injury of an additional 78 miners. Occurring in the post-apartheid era, it was the deadliest incident of violence between police and the civilian population in South Africa since the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre which prompted the South African President Jacob Zuma to setup an investigation. Gordon Farlam was appointed as the chairperson of a committee. Under the probe, Cyril Ramaphosa testified for lobbying with the Lonmin and SAPS. Ramaphosa also accepted to the commission that massacre could have been avoided if proper precautionary actions had been taken
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