Free State goldfields
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The Free State goldfields were only developed after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
even though gold had been discovered in 1938. The development gave rise to major development of the region.


Background

After the discovery of gold on the
Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...
in the 1880s geologists knew that the main reef spread to the east and west, but did so at great depth. At that period the technology to prospect or mine at such depth was not yet available. In the 1930s, new geophysical prospecting methods determined that deep gold reefs could be discovered. The mines in the Klerksdorp and
Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier ( Afrikaans for "pretty ri ...
areas were started thanks to the success of these new methods.


The Free State

In the 1890s the trader Gustav Furst had a small shop on the farm Zoeten Inval. It was 13km from where Odendaalrus stands today. Furst showed the prospector Archibald Megson a quartzite vein. Megson and his partners Donaldson and Haines sank an adit and found gold. However, it was in insufficient volumes to attract financiers. Donaldson and Haines took samples with them to London on the ship
Drummond Castle Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is known for its gardens, described by Historic Environment Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, south of Crieff ...
. On 16 June 1896 the ship when down at
Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...
, signaling the end of the initiative and Furst disappeared from the scene. In the early 1930s Megson managed to interest Allan Roberts, an amateur geologist and dental technician, in the reef and entrance adit. Megson was bought out by Roberts who founded "Wit Extensions". In 1933 Roberts bored a hole of 1 263m near to the adit on the farm Aandenk. It yielded nothing and the venture came to naught. This effort was followed by others, eg: Western Holdings and a company owned by Hans Merensky. Using new technology and instruments he developed himself, the Hungarian geologist, Oscar Weiss, identified a place on the farm St. Helena. In April 1938 he drilled into gold at a depth of 737m. The estimation was more than a half ounce per ton of processed ore. Unfortunately the Second World War broke out thereafter and prospecting work came to a halt. After the Second World War various mining companies flooded Odendaalsrus and within a year over 50 holes were bored. On 16 April 1946 the great discovery was made on the farm Geduld. With the thirteenth hole he had drilled, a drill operator called "Lucky" Hamilton, struck gold at a depth of 1 200 m. The sample from the drill core yielded 62oz of gold per ton of processed ore, making it one of the richest reefs in the world. One of the companies found the hole drilled by Allan Roberts, cleaned it out and drilled deeper striking the same reef a further 122m on.


Impacts

The discovery of the reef led to the establishment of the city of
Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The ci ...
and the town of Riebeeckstad whilst towns such as Odendalsrus, Allanridge and Virginia enjoyed unbelievable growth. Water was supplied into the region from the
Vaal Dam The Vaal Dam in South Africa was constructed in 1938 and lies 77 km south of OR Tambo International Airport. The lake behind the dam wall has a surface area of about and is 47 meters deep. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River, which is one ...
and new roads and railway lines laid in order to service it. Mines that were established were: * Beatrix * Erfdeel-Dankbaarheid * Free State Geduld * Jeanette * Loraine * Oryx * President Brand * President Steyn * St. Helena * Welkom * Western Holdings


The region

The following towns are part of the Free State Goldfields: *
Allanridge Allanridge is a gold mining town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State province in South Africa. It is the main centre of the Loraine Gold Mining Company and is dominated by the tall headgear and complex reduction works tha ...
*
Hennenman Hennenman is a town in the Free State goldfields in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State province of South Africa. The settlement is unusual for the district as being supported by agriculture rather than the mining industr ...
*
Odendaalsrus Odendaalsrus is the oldest gold mining town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality in the goldfields of the Free State province in South Africa. History It started out in 1912 as a ramshackle collection of farms and a central church that b ...
* Riebeeckstad *
Virginia, Free State Virginia is a gold mining town located in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality and on goldfields of the Free State province in South Africa about 140 km (90 mi) northeast of Bloemfontein the provincial capital. History In 1890, t ...
*
Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The ci ...


References

* Based on the original article in
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
. * ''Ensiklopedie van Suidelike Afrika''. Eric Rosenthal. 1967. * ''Goud in Suid-Afrika''. Ted Scannel. 1988. * ''Op Pad in Suid-Afrika''. B.P.J. Erasmus. 1995. {{coord missing, South Africa Gold mines in South Africa History of gold mining Orange Free State