Kusasalethu (formerly Elandskraal, an amalgamation of Elandsrand and Deelkraal mines) is a gold mine on the West Wits Line near
Carletonville
Carletonville is a town in Gauteng and the seat of the Merafong City Local Municipality in the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, just north of the richest gold-mining area in the world. At 3,749 m, Western Deep Levels hold ...
,
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, and west of
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. The Deelkraal Section of the mine is situated about to the west at
.
Overview
The mine is owned by the
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. and is the amalgamation of the Deelkraal mine and Elandsrand mines, bought from AngloGold in 2001 for R1 billion in cash.
Kusasalethu mines mainly the Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR) and the Carbon Leader. Production in 2007 was 195,000 ounces, proven and probable reserves totalled 8.3 million ounces and additional identified resources totalled 7.1 million ounces.
An R989 million (US$137 million) project to develop a deeper 'new mine' to exploit the VCR between below surface is well advanced. It is expected to be complete in 2010 and boost annual production to 416,000 ounces.
[
On 3 October 2007 3,200 employees were trapped underground when a compressed air pipe broke away just below surface in the men and material shaft and fell to the shaft bottom, severely damaging both the shaft steelwork and the electricity supply to the sub men and material shaft. The trapped workers were all brought to surface by 4.00 p.m. the following day after cages had been installed in the rock shaft. 48 days of production were lost.
In late 2014, the mine was shut down for two weeks as part of efforts to clear illegal miners from working.]
Production
Recent production figures:
See also
* Elandsrand
Elandsrand (Afrikaans for " eland ridge") is a small mining town approximately outside Carletonville next to Blyvooruitzicht.
History Trapped miners event of October 2007
On 3 October 2007, 3,200 mine workers were trapped in the gold mine after ...
township
References
External links
Schalk Burger, 10 December 2010, Kusasalethu aims to produce 200 000 oz of gold in 2011
{{Greater Johannesburg
Gold mines in South Africa
Underground mines in South Africa
Buildings and structures in Gauteng
Economy of Gauteng