Joburg’s young guns pioneer a gold mining revival
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Joburg’s young guns pioneer a gold mining revival
New mining companies are changing the face of an often-troubled African city.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine.
There’s a new breed of gold miners in town. They’re young, enthusiastic and they’re changing the face of gold mining in Johannesburg and South Africa. Gone are the days of prolific volumes, high grades and large conglomerates carrying heavy baggage.
The new pioneers on the Rand are adapting quicker to a modern world and today’s realities. Moreover, they’re environmentally conscious and they’re cleaning up the mess bestowed on Johannesburg citizens by monopolies who called the shots for more than 100 years.
A buoyant gold price
With a little bit of help from a buoyant gold price, companies like Pan African Resources (PAR), West Wits Mining and the old stalwart DRDGold are proving that gold mining in Johannesburg is far from a sunset industry. In fact, it is thriving. What’s more, there are still enough opportunities to ensure that the foundations on which the City of Gold was built, are strengthened, and that its resilient verve is restored.
I visited PAR’s Mogale Tailings Retreatment operation close to Krugersdorp on the West Rand yesterday as part of the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip. PAR also has surface rights in what they call the Soweto Cluster, in the same area that West Wits Mining has underground mining rights (I ventured underground with West Wits on Thursday).
Running a tight ship
PAR is going from strength to strength, and they run a tight ship in a new look Witwatersrand Basin. The days of large headgear, cages packed with underground workers and unexpected rock falls are gone for good, and brighter days are on the horizon.
PAR uses hydraulic mining (water cannons) to break down the slurry and material from old mine dumps. The slurry is pumped to a central processing plant where gold particles left behind by historic mining operations, are efficiently recovered by modern recovery methods.
This mining method is low-cost, safe, environmentally friendly and is setting a new standard for gold mining in a new era.
There is a lot happening in the PAR camp, and I expect big announcements to be made in the not-too-distant future.
Follow WhyAfrica for more
The revival of Johannesburg’s gold mining sector, and the changing face of a growing African city, is a great story that we’ll continue following at WhyAfrica.
Remember, Leg 1 of the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip through South Africa, southern Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini officially gets underway on Monday 1 September, do not miss this edition.
Image: PAR uses hydraulic mining (water cannons) to break down the slurry and material from old mine dumps. Image credit: Leon Louw for WhyAfrica.
Joburg’s young guns pioneer a gold mining revival
