Chasing the Kimberley Reef
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Chasing the Kimberley Reef
ASX listed West Wits Mining is rebuilding a gold mining legacy in Johannesburg.
By Leon Louw owner of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine.
Between Soweto and Roodepoort, on the old mining fields of Johannesburg in South Africa, one can still see an outcrop of Kimberley Reef, the second gold bearing reef the old miners targeted when they followed the richest ore body the world has ever seen, deeper and deeper into the veins of the Witwatersrand Basin.
The Kimberley Reef was first mined in 1887, a little more than a year after work started on the Main Reef, the first reef to be mined on the Witwatersrand.
Chasing the Kimberley Reef
Today, 138 years after that first excursion into the Kimberley Reef, modern miners are chasing it once again, this time with much better equipment and more knowledge, albeit in a completely changed world.
West Wits Mining’s Qala Shallows project, the first new underground gold mine to open in South Africa since 2009, is a modern urban mine in the true sense of the word. Moreover, it is blowing new life into a historic and discarded area of Johannesburg which, a few years ago, was thought to be down and out.
According to Rudi Deysel, MD of West Wits, Qala (the beginning) will create close to 1000 jobs in a part of Johannesburg where unemployment is rife.
The project will benefit from existing infrastructure and proximity to Johannesburg, lowering development and operating costs compared to more remote operations.
WhyAfrica ventures underground
WhyAfrica ventured underground yesterday morning to get our boots dirty in the run-up to the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip.
In the process I stumbled upon an outcrop of the Kimberley Reef that I thought has been mined down to the bone. West Wits is following that same reef on the downdip and they’re doing it on almost holy ground where legendary names in the South African mining industry have dirtied their boots and left their footprints (and fingerprints unfortunately).
This is as fascinating as mining gets and it is a significant development in an ailing Johannesburg and more so, in an often-troubled South Africa.
Proudly South African equipment
Besides the revered Kimberley Reef, I also spotted the Proudly South African equipment manufacturer Rham Equipment’s beautiful LHD on site where the team on the ground described it as “robust” and extremely “user-friendly.”
WhyAfrica is proud to have Rham Equipment as an official bronze sponsor of the WhyAfrica Road Trip this year. We will publish some footage of the LHD in action on WhyAfric’s YouTube channel soon as well as a great interview with Rudi Deysel, MD of West Wits.
Don’t forget to follow the 2025 WhyAfrica Road trip from next week as we follow more reefs, dirty boots and fingerprints to find the end of the rainbow.
Chasing the Kimberley Reef
