Title: Platinum, Gold and Diamonds
Subtitle: The story of Hans Merensky’s discovery
Author: Eberhard W. Machens
Publisher: E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung oHG
Stuttgart, Germany 2009
ISBN 9783510652570 / ISBN 978-3-510-65257-0
Softcover, 15 x 22 cm, 308 pages, photos, 4 figures,, English text
Both in South Africa and in Namibia, the name Hans Merensky summons a multitude of well-known public places and instututions: The famous Merensky Reef in the Bushveld Complex, the Merensky Dam, Hans Merensky Nature Reserve near Tzaneen, the Hans Merensky Hotel and Golf Estate in Phalaborwa, the Hans Merensky Library at the University of Pretoria, a Hans Merensky Foundation and a Hans Merensky High School, to name but a few. These names, however, leave untold a biography that resembles an adventure novel: The story of Hans Merensky’s extraordinary discoveries. Born the son of the well-know missionary Alexander Merensky at Botshabelo in the eastern Transvaal, trained as a geologist in Germany, he was drawn back to South Africa by his creative ambition to explore the potential of the country of his birth. Hans Merensky proved to be far more than the “wizard geologist” the press dubbed him during his heyday. Today it is obvious that Merensky was not only a scientist of note, but also an extremely far-sighted economic strategist, agricultural trendsetter, humanitarian and philanthropist.
Preface and acknowledgements
The life of a discoverer
What is a mineral deposit?
The missionary's son
The land of gold - Ophir
Carl Mauch discovers the Zimbabwe Ruins
Lieutenant of the Guard and mining assessor
Consulting geologist in South Africa
What is the difference between prospecting and exploration?
The Madagascar gold
"Primary" and "secondary" deposits
Bankruptcy
Interned
The art of getting into debt
Light at the end of the tunnel
The history of platinum
Platinum in the Bushveld
Platinum, platinum without end
To the Adlon in Berlin and back to the Transvaal
The history of diamonds
Diamonds in Namaqualand
"Like Argus of the Ancient Times"
The struggle for mining rights
The diamond cartel
The turning point in Merensky's life
A summer in Mecklenburg
The creative farmer
Eucalyptus as timber
Gold in the Orange Free State
Chrome ore deposits
New successes: chrome ores and vermiculite
Vermiculite
The last coup
The last years
A lasting legacy
Bibliography
Index of people
Index of places, companies and institutions
Index of concepts and events