Well done, Nolene, I, too, have that book but didn't think to look in it. Best wishes, Tombi ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nolene Lossau" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 9:42 AM Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Early Witwatersrand gold mines. >I have a History Book about Johannesburg called "Like it Was - The Star 100 > Years in Johannesburg" published by Argus in 1987 ISBN 0 620 09389 7 which > is a mine (excuse the pun) of information about the gold mines of > Johannesburg. The Star was one of the first newspapers published in > Johannesburg - the first edition went out on Monday 117 Oct 1887. Gold had > been discovered by George HARRION in February 1886. In the 6 July 1889 > edition The Star published a list of gold yields from various mines. These > mines were listed as follows: > > Aurora > Chimes > Crown > Croesus > City & Suburban > Durban Roodepoort > Henry Nourse > Jubilee > Langlaagte > May Consolidated > Mint > New Primrose > New Grahamstown > Royal > Simmer and Jack > Steyn Estate > Wemmer > Worcester > Wolhuter > > -----Original Message----- > From: Keith Meintjes [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 19 February 2014 09:31 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Early Witwatersrand gold mines. > > Dennis, > > Yes, but: > > What are the associated genealogy resources? Are the Chamber of Mines or > the Anglo-American personnel records available to researchers? > > I worked at Vaal Reefs in Stilfontein while I was an engineering student > at > Wits. Let me just stay that mining a half meter thick gold vein that > angles > at 45 degrees upwards more than a mile underground with oppressive heat > and > humidity is one of the most terrifying memories I have. > > On the radio here today (BBC on satellite in the USA) there are stories > about "illegal" miners being trapped underground. Desperate people, it > seems to me. > > Keith > > ------ Original Message ------ > Received: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 02:32:07 PM EST > From: "Dennis Pretorius" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Early Witwatersrand gold mines. > > Hallo All > > Maybe someone would like to record all the Gold Mines - and maybe diamond > and coal mines as well - and store that somewhere on a website ? > > Any offers ? > > > Kind regards. > > > > Dennis Pretorius > Krugersdorp South Africa > Tel - 011-762-8911 > Cel - 083-679-8541 > Fax - 086-609-8541 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Irene de Villiers > Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 3:40 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Early Witwatersrand gold mines. > > > On Feb 18, 2014, at 1:37 AM, Bev wrote: > >> Is there a source which lists the names of the mines [not the mining >> companies] and where exactly they were situated? Perhaps a map? >> >>> From what I can gather, [from death notices] although the men worked >>> on the >> mines, they did not necessarily live in mine houses? >> >> Thank you! Bev > > > Bev I do not know how much I coud help, but I lived on a gold mine and my > dad, and his dad were mine officials. The largest company of gold mines > was > Anglo American of South Africa and I know the names of the AASA GOLD mines > of the 1900s if that helps? > > I grew up at Western Reefs mine, a new one which was started by my dad and > 16 others, in 1953 in Orkney, on the Vaal river, about 100 miles SSW of > Jo'burg. It had three shafts (one way to measure a mine's size is how many > shafts took miners up and down). > Then came Vaal Reefs, in a town of same name, a few miles away, and later > those two were both called Vaal Reefs, a huge mining area with 11 shafts. > Klerksdorp is about 8 miles north of Orkney and the largest town in that > area. It was also a gold mine but was closed down, emptied, by the time > Western Reefs was started. > The underground mine workings went all over the place, under Stilfontein > town, Westdriefontein, Orkney, Vaal Reefs, Vierfonteyn, and Klerksdorp, > these all being towns that were developed above the extensive mining > operations and eventually it was all called Vaalk reefs, but the original > mines were these town names plus Western Reefs and minus Orkney. Orkney > was > never a mine name. Western Reefs mine was in Orkney. (Underground railways > connected it all down there - so while there were all these discrete towns > up top, it was all a big connected area of mining operations underground, > and at several levels.) > > As for housing, that was a company policy matter. Anglo did offer its > workers housing, and you got a house with a size and shape according to > the > job you did. You had to pay rent of two rand a month, just to make rental > official that you did not own the house. BUT - when you retired or left, > you had to leave the house and so it was smart to plan to buy one at > retirement elsewhere. > Black workers were housed in apartment style buildings, one for each > tribal > custom group, with vegetable gardens per culture, and entertainment > ampitheatres per cultural group. Workers were made up in teams of ten who > spoke the same language. There were an average of fifty languages spoken > on > one mine as workers came from all over Africa to work on mines. They did 2 > weeks above ground training on arrival, including intensive safety and > first > aid training, while thery acclimatized to the altitude of 6000 feet or > more. > > > (I am convinced the apartheid idea was taken from the very effective mine > system where workers had a choice of what language/culture group housing > to > use. But of course the govt made a total controlling mess of things with > forced compliance instead of free choice and.......best I shall leave that > subject....) > > Further south in Orange Free State, Welkom area, was a cluster of mines > named: > Freddies > Free State Geduld > President Brand > Saaiplaas > President Steyn > Western Holdings > Joel > > > And further north circling Johannesburg (now Gauteng) the mines: > Western Deep Levels (East Levels) > Western Deep Levels (Levels West) > Western Deep Levels (Levels South) > Elandsrand > > > Those were Anglo mines and there were others but those I rememeber less > about. > Carletonville mine of course was famous because of sinkholes there. > East Rand Mine is at Boxburg. > East of the western Deep Levels mines is East Rand mine and still more > east, > Evander mine. > > Earliest GOLD mines were at Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton, after which the > Witwatersrand gold reef was discovered.......all those ANglo mines > followed > from the 1886 gold rush. > > > DIAMOND MINES > > They started 1867 with diamonds on the Orange River bank, Kimberley > developed as a centre where you can still see the "Big Hole" > In the mid to late 1800s many people staked claims in the area, and each > owned their little claim area. > The van der Merwe joke about the later develpment of one giant digging at > Kimberley, was that VdM won the local biggest carrot grown that year > competition, but explained the carrot was too big to bring along to show > people. However, they could go see the big hole it came out of.... > > Diamonds were also found near Johannesburg at Cullinan mine. > > > OTHER MINES > > SA has uranium mines (esp at Western Reefs, now Vaal Reefs) coal mines > (low > sulphur which is low pollution coal), vanadium, platinum manganese > zirconium > rutile and the list goes on. > Do you know what kind of mining names you need? > I hope you find what you nede. I thought this might be a starting place. > > Namaste, > Irene > Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom. > P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220. > www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.) > "Man > who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it." > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message