The South Deep mine is one of the largest

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

mines in the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and in the world. The mine is located in the north-east of the country in

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

. The mine has estimated reserves of 81.4 million oz of

Environment, Social & Corporate Governance

South Deep Mine has experienced a challenging period over recent years with various steps taken to revise its cost base in order to reduce losses (of approximately US$292m over a five-year period). In August 2019 a material restructuring of the mine was announced with the primary aim being to reduce costs by way of cutting 1,100 employees and 460 contractors. In response to the retrenchment announcements, the National Union of Mineworkers branch at South Deep started strike action. The strike lasted for 45 days from 2 November 2018 and was ended following a settlement agreement between Gold Fields and the National Union of Mineworkers.

References

Gold mines in South Africa Economy of Gauteng Gold Fields {{SouthAfrica-mine-stub