(a) Describe the major method of gold mining in South Africa. (b) Highlight any four benefits of gold mining to the country. (c) Identify three problems whi...

Answer Details

(a) Major method of gold mining in South Africa

Gold in South Africa (chiefly the Witwatersrand around Johannesburg) occurs in thin reefs that dip steeply to great depths, so it is worked by deep-shaft (underground) mining. The main steps are:

• Vertical shafts are sunk from the surface, some reaching over 3 km deep, to reach the gold-bearing reefs.
• Horizontal tunnels (drives and stopes) are driven from the shaft along the reef, and the ore is blasted loose with explosives.
• The broken ore is hauled up the shaft in cages/skips to the surface.
• At the surface the ore is crushed and milled to a fine powder.
• The gold is extracted by treatment with cyanide solution and recovery of the metal (cyanidation), then smelted into bars.
• Because of the great depth, the mines need refrigeration/ventilation, pumping of water and support of the workings.

(b) Four benefits of gold mining to South Africa

1. It earns large amounts of foreign exchange as a leading export.
2. It provides employment for a very large mining and support workforce.
3. It has stimulated the growth of towns and infrastructure (Johannesburg, railways, power supply).
4. It generates government revenue and has encouraged the growth of allied engineering, chemical and manufacturing industries.

(c) Three problems resulting from gold mining

1. Environmental damage: huge waste dumps (mine tailings) and dust disfigure the land and pollute air, soil and water (cyanide/acid drainage).
2. Health and safety hazards: deep mining exposes workers to heat, rock falls, accidents and lung disease (silicosis).
3. Social problems: migrant-labour system separates workers from families and crowds them into camps, and abandoned/worked-out mines leave derelict land and unemployment.