The mining of gold in South Africa began in 1887, in what is now the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg. Just a few years previous to the gold rush, the strikes of the diamond miners had taken place. By the end of the first year of mining it had become obvious that the Rand mines were filled with gold. Many of those involved previously in the mining of diamonds, now millionaires, transferred their interests, their investments and their homesteads, to the city of Johannesburg. What was true during the late 1800′s remains true to this day, the fact that Johannesburg became and is, the largest city in the country, filled with skyscrapers, restaurants and boutique hotels. South Africa owes its financial prosperity to these gold mines. More than five hundred people rely in the gold mining industry, from suppliers to the distributors to the miners and merchants. By 1989, almost one half of the gold ever mined, in the world, came from those mines in South Africa. Today, South Africa still produces the largest amount of gold.
The deepest gold mine exists in the country, the East Rand mine. In the past this was one of the most dangerous places to be, and to be working. At such a depth, the heat of the rocks is just about unbearable. But now, air conditioning systems are making the conditions of working at such a depth bearable and much safer. The Harmony Mine is home to one of the biggest ice machines in the world. The ice is used to cool water, much as an evaporative cooler works to cool the air. The gold industry changed throughout time, with prices dropping and rising. Reforms, social and political, have resulted in higher wages and better conditions for those working in the fields and underground. At one time they feared that it would be necessary to close the mines. But today, the mines are running, gold prices are steady, and as was true in the past, the economy and the security of those living and working in South Africa, remains largely reliant on the industry of gold mining.
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