Lessons from the past
The Witwatersrand Basin still offers many opportunities for gold miners. West Wits is a small company
pursuing some of the old reefs in the Roodepoort area of Johannesburg.
Unleash the drill rigs —
let the geologists find SA’s
next great gold deposit
Contrary to popular belief, great
opportunities still exist for gold miners
in South Africa. In fact, the country
might be sitting on the world’s next great
discovery, writes Leon Louw.
T
he world’s greatest goldfield
continues to prompt discussion,
elicit arguments, and produce new
theories. Many believe that the
Witwatersrand Basin is reaching the end of its
productive life and won’t be able to deliver the
endless flow of gold on which the foundations
of Johannesburg were built.
The mainstream narrative is that the
gold mining industry in South Africa is a
sunset industry. Most geologists with a good
[42] MINING MIRROR FEBRUARY 2019
knowledge of the Witwatersrand Basin are of
the opinion, however, that less than 60% of the
gold available in the ground has been mined.
Mining Mirror recently interviewed several
expert geologists and they all agree: there is
still plenty of gold left. The problem is not so
much the depth of the remaining reefs (which
is true, especially on the West Rand) or the
low grades of what is left (which is also true),
but most importantly, the lack of drilling holes
in areas previously not explored to the full.
Moreover, there are shallow, low-hanging
fruits in and around the traditional (let’s call it
the centre) Witwatersrand Basin that has not
been utilised to its full potential. The presence
of zama-zamas operating in an underground
world of dark tunnels literally winding
underneath the city of Johannesburg, bears
testimony thereto.
There are many theories, nonetheless, about
the origin of the Witwatersrand gold. Most
South African geologists, and Witwatersrand
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