Pawan Kumar
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… In a way, everything in the world is pale in front of the shine of gold. Apart from gold, there is hardly any other thing on this earth whose craze is the same in the whole world. Scientists and historians believe that gold is one of the oldest metals discovered on earth.
Its discovery is believed to have happened about 5,000 years ago. Since then, whether it has been the era of kings and emperors or today’s era, the shine of gold has never faded, nor is there any possibility of it fading in the future. Especially in India, there is a special attraction among the people regarding gold ornaments.
Many countries of the world including America-China-India-Australia have huge reserves of gold but do you know which is called Gold City of World? The title of Gold City of the World is given to the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. Where is the largest and deepest deposit of gold Witwatersrand Mines located. According to an estimate, the Witwatersrand mine is located in the Gauteng province of South Africa, where the largest city is Johannesburg.
The huge gold reserves here have produced more than 40 percent of the world’s total gold production. It is said that the city of Johannesburg situated on the hills was settled according to the digging of gold mines.
How big is the gold reserve?
The depth of gold mines of Witwatersrand is up to 3000 meters underground. There is an estimate of more than 82 million ounces of gold reserves here. Gold is being mined here for the last 61 years i.e. from the year 1961 and for which the mining company is estimated to be able to produce gold for the next 70 years i.e. till the year 2092. In the year 2017, 281,300 ounces of gold was produced from here and in the year 2018, 157,100 ounces of gold was produced from here. This mine is also a major source of uranium. There are five major gold mines here – Kloof Gold Mine, Driefontein Gold Mine, South Deep Gold Mine, Impala Mine and Tshepong Mine.
How is the life of the common people here?
Amidst the glitter of gold, the life of the common people here is quite different. The Gauteng province of which Johannesburg is a part is one of the smallest provinces in South Africa in terms of land area i.e. only 1.5 per cent of the land. But the population here is very high. This is home to 26 percent of the country’s population i.e. one crore 60 lakh people. Now is this gold hypnosis or what? You will understand yourself after seeing this local situation. The main center of this province is the city of Johannesburg, which is counted among the big cities of the world. It is a largely urbanized area. Today, this city has not only become the business center of South Africa, but it would not be wrong to call it the center of the entire African continent.
The area of gold mines is spread far and wide
This area is situated on the banks of the Vaal river and is a landlocked area away from the border of any other country. The hills and dry weather here generally make it a difficult area for people to live in, but the prospects of employment and business opportunities in the gold mines draw people here. The area of Gold Mines is in the south of Witwatersrand Gauteng and is spread over an area of 120 km. The weather remains cold in the city of Johannesburg, located at an altitude of 1700 meters above sea level. But many times the snowfall here makes the weather pleasant.
The story of the settlement of Gold City is no less interesting.
The story of the settlement of Gold City Johannesburg is no less interesting. When gold mining started in this area in the late 19th century, this city was settled. Instead of settling on the banks of water sources like other cities, it was settled in terms of gold mining. Today, the population of Johannesburg city is around 5 million. Workers from all over the world come and settle here for gold mining work. That’s why there is a lot of diversity in the culture here.
On the streets here you will get to taste African cuisine to Asian and even European taste. Here the government has given it a forest city look by planting 60 lakh timber trees. For this reason it is also known as the most wooded city in the world. The gold mines here were earlier ruled by European businessmen, but with time the influence of Asia and Arabia has also increased rapidly here.
Criminal syndicate is no less
Illegal laborers are also brought from Asia-Africa countries for illegal mining of gold in the forests and mountains here, who are engaged in illegal mining work in dark tunnels by Randlords in the hope of getting gold. Sometimes illegal criminal syndicates dig tunnels for many kilometers to reach the gold mine. Many times incidents of violent clashes and firing also come to the fore.
According to an estimate, there are more than 6000 such mines in these areas which are either abandoned after use or are spread in remote and isolated areas and are in the form of small mines. Violent clashes between criminal syndicates are frequent for their possession. But, in spite of all this, the biggest hope of employment for the population of 50 lakh people living here is also attached to these gold mines. Due to large number of people coming here, where there is shortage in the housing sector, the unemployment rate has also reached 29 percent.
According to a report by the South African Human Rights Commission, till the year 2015, more than 30 thousand migrant people engaged in illegal mining are active here. Most of which are active around the gold mines located in the vicinity of the city of Johannesburg. Of these, 75 percent are migrant laborers who have been brought illegally from other countries in Africa or Asia without documents.
Gold reserves around the world and in India
The magic of gold is the same in every region of the world. If we leave Antarctica, then gold mines are in every other continent of the world. These gold mines are not only under the ground in mountains and plateaus but are also found in many places around the world in areas under the sea. KGF ie Kolar Gold Fields is the most popular in India. The highest production of gold in India is in Karnataka – from the mines named Kolar, Hutti and Ooty.
It is believed that there is a reserve of about 17 lakh tonnes of gold ore in Karnataka. Apart from this, gold also comes out from Hirabuddini and Kendrukocha mines of Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh also have gold and diamond mines in Panna. But in spite of this, in view of the huge demand, gold is imported from outside on a large scale in India. Even through illegal smuggling, the activities of bringing gold from many countries could not be controlled despite all the efforts.
Gold is usually found either alone or in an alloy with mercury or silver and is refined to make it suitable for use in making jewellery. Due to the industry of refining the gold found in Africa, the city of Dubai has become the gold hub of the world today and people from all over the world buy gold very cheaply from there.
