Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa, by Jade Davenport

Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa, by Jade Davenport. Jonathan Ball Publishers. Johannesburg; Cape Town 2013. ISBN 9781868424238 / ISBN 978-1-86842-423-8

Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa, by Jade Davenport. Jonathan Ball Publishers. Johannesburg; Cape Town 2013. ISBN 9781868424238 / ISBN 978-1-86842-423-8

Having documented the extraordinary rise of South Africa's mining industry over the last century and a half, it is a disappointing task for author of the book Digging deep: A history of mining in South Africa, Jade Davenport, to note that, as this concluding section is written in August 2013, the once mighty and economy-dominating force is now but a shadow of its former self.

Jade Davenport  

To say that the mining industry has played a defining role in the course of South Africa's history, at least during the last century and a half, would be no great exaggeration. Nowhere else in the world has a mineral revolution proved so influential in weaving the political, economic and social fabric of a society. Before the advent of its great mineral revolution in the latter half of the nineteenth century, South Africa was a mere colonial backwater whose unpromising landscape was seemingly devoid of any economic potential. The region's economy was rudimentary, being almost entirely dependent on a middling agricultural sector, which itself was considerably constrained by harsh climatic conditions and the limited size of the domestic market. It was a land without millions and without millionaires; no man dreamed of making a great fortune in such an unforgiving country; Yet beneath the surface of an incredibly varied landscape lay the richest mineral treasure trove ever discovered in one country. Almost every precious stone, mineral and metal known to man has been found in deposits varying from mere traces to quantities of enormous value. In fact, South Africa boasts the world's largest reserves of platinum group metals, chromium, manganese, and vanadium, and is also host to some of the most significant reserves of gold, coal, diamonds, iron ore, titanium, andalusite, fluorspar and vermiculite. The reason why South Africa is so well endowed with such a wide variety of mineral resources is that the heart of the country overlies the Kaapvaal Craton, which is perhaps the most ancient nucleus of continental crust. Because this section of the Earth's crust elates back to the early Achaean times, or 5,7 billion years ago, it has undergone far more cycles of magmatic intrusion, sedimentation, metamorphism, and deformation, all processes that facilitate the deposition of ore reserves of varying richness, than younger landmasses. Indeed the significant age of the craton is the very reason why all of South Africa's minerals, except coal, are at least twice as old as most rocks exposed in Europe or the Americas. It was the uncovering of pockets of that incredibly rich treasure trove that completely transformed the economic prospects of the region. In a world where every single item consumed by man is either mined or farmed, a statement that is as true today as it was 100 years ago, the significance of South Africa's vast and varied mineral resource is only too apparent. Moreover, the discoveries were made at a time when the world's economy was undergoing rapid industrialisation and becoming increasingly connected through expanding trade networks, and in a region that was firmly under the dominance of Britain at the height of its imperial influence. It was the intensive exploitation of copper, followed by diamonds, gold and coal in the latter half of the nineteenth century, that ultimately catapulted South Africa's backward economy into the modern, industrialised era. for the first time, the country had commodities that the rest of the world desperately required and it was on the back of the export of tonnages of its natural wealth that it was not only able to diversify its economy but also to industrialise at a rate and on a scale unprecedented on the African continent. Most importantly, the mineral revolution enabled the introduction of an aggressively organised and racially dominated form of industrial capitalism, an economic system that dominated South Africa's socio-political and fiscal arena for more than a century. This narrative presents a historical overview of the discovery of South Africa's mineral wealth and the subsequent establishment and growth of a giant mining industry over the course of 150 years. It tracks the development of the industry, starting with the establishment of the first commercial mine in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape in 1852. It then covers the more familiar history of the discovery of diamonds and gold in the 1860s and 1870s and the subsequent development of those industries. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book: Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa, by Jade Davenport.

Title: Digging deep
Subtitle: A history of mining in South Africa
Author: Jade Davenport
Genre: Mining history
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg; Cape Town 2013
ISBN 9781868424238 / ISBN 978-1-86842-423-8
Hardcover, dustjacket, 15 x 23 cm, 537 pages, numerous b/w and colour photos

Davenport, Jade im Namibiana-Buchangebot

Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa 1852-2002

Digging deep. A history of mining in South Africa 1852-2002

Digging Deep chronicles the history of South Africa's mining from 1852 to 2002 and the great mineral revolution.

Weitere Buchempfehlungen

Oranjemund

Oranjemund

A journey through history and modern times of the mining town Oranjemund in South Namibia.

Platinum, Gold and Diamonds. The story of Hans Merensky’s discovery

Platinum, Gold and Diamonds. The story of Hans Merensky’s discovery

This biography of Hans Merensky’s tells far more about this successful geologist than about his successful mining of platinum, gold and diamonds only.

Naturally nourishing Namibia

Naturally nourishing Namibia

Cookbook Naturally nourishing Namibia contains 50 recipes, based on fruit, vegetables, fish, mopane worms, chicken, legumes, whole grain, plus 10 healthy drinks.

Masked Raiders. Irish Banditry in Southern Africa 1880-1899

Masked Raiders. Irish Banditry in Southern Africa 1880-1899

Masked Raiders: Irish Banditry in Southern Africa 1880-1899" tells the tale of history where Irish troops deserted their posts for the allure of the diamonds and gold.

Hans Merensky. Geologe und Mäzen. Platin, Gold und Diamanten in Afrika

Hans Merensky. Geologe und Mäzen. Platin, Gold und Diamanten in Afrika

Der deutsche Geologe und Mäzen Hans Merensky bescherte Südafrika die bedeutendsten Funde an Platin, Gold, Diamanten und Phosphaten, von denen das Land heute noch zehrt.