Present Day Metallurgical Engineering on the Rand

An examination of gold mining companies in South Africa, published in 1898 on the eve of the Anglo-Boer war.

John Yates (Author)

9781108026635, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 May 2011

146 pages, 20 b/w illus. 1 table
29.7 x 21 x 0.8 cm, 0.37 kg

The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand hills and the Transvaal region of South Africa sparked a rush in the late 1880s. Competition between the British and Boer settlers for access and control of this valuable commodity was one of the underlying causes of the second Anglo-Boer war (1899–1902) in which the British eventually won control of the territory. In this work, published in 1898, the mining engineer and Fellow of the Geological Society of London John Yates outlines the state of the booming industry on the eve of war. He discusses the work of key companies and includes technical specifications and illustrations of the equipment used in the new gold mines, such as the shafts, mills and cyanide works. An appendix by his fellow engineer Hennen Jennings addresses the question of government assistance in subsidising the huge start-up costs of these mining projects.

Preface
Introduction
1. The Glencairn Main Reef Gold Mining Company (Limited)
2. The Simmer and Jack Proprietary Mines (Limited)
3. The Jumpers Deep Gold Mining Company (Limited)
4. The Crown Reef Gold Mining Company (Limited)
5. General review of Rand practice
Appendix on the economics of the Transvaal gold mining industry Hennen Jennings.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX]