The Gold Reef City theme park is situated on a 10Ha site which surrounds the then number 14 gold mine shaft at Crown Mines. Indeed, this 19th century gold mine produced 1.4 million kilograms of gold before closing in the 70’s.
The shaft was opened in 1897, thus only 11 years after Johannesburg was established and was part of the gold reef stretching 100 km from east of Boksburg to Randfontein in the west.
This made the Gold Reef City shaft 14 the world’s richest producer of gold, 1.4 million kilograms over its 90 year life span.
This shaft was then at its time, one of the deepest gold mines and worked by 30 000 miners.
Gold mine tour takes you back in time with a first hand look at an old mining town, as well as the vibrant life of such a gold town.
A miner’s language (Fanagalo) was developed in 1910. This then enabled the miners from different cultures and languages to communicate.
Fanagolo was simplistic consisting of only 2000 words relevant to gold mining, however 25% of these were swear words.
For miners, this was a tough way to earn a living with heat, dampness, darkness and additionally the ear shattering noise of drills.
Lighting was by candlelight, thus posing a continued risk of explosion due to the presence of methane gas.
Donkeys pulled the gold laden coco pans, staying down the mine for three months before then going blind.
There is gold remaining in the mine, however the price of gold at the time mine closed, made it uneconomical to remove.
The lower levels of the mine are currently flooded – 19th level to the 57th level. Thus, underground gold tours are conducted only up to 5th level.
Gold Reef Shaft No 14, in production for 84 years – 1887 to 1971 and indeed, at its time, deepest mine in the world.
Then travel down the Gold Mine shaft (under 5 years not allowed) in a large clangy lift to level 5 ( 720 feet – 226 meters) for a guided gold mine tour.
Walk down tunnels with a hard hat and torch in hand, so experience the tough conditions that gold miners had to endure.
Experience a short burst from a miners drill, this will accordingly give you an understanding as to why miners would go deaf without ear plugs.
Then see the mine manager’s office with the miner’s identity box. This then helped identify missing miners.
Follow the coco pan tracks past the red dynamite box and get a view up a 35 degree slope with little head room and then wooden steps that lead to the surface of the mine in the event of power failure.
Once back on the surface you experience daily demonstrations of pouring molten gold into gleaming bars of bullion and traditional miner’s gumboot dances on visiting the then mine manager’s house.
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