South Africa's first gold mine

A short distance south of Polokwane in Limpopo stands an impressive stone chimney stack, all that remains of a commercial gold mine. But it is the date of its construction that is the real surprise, writes Mike Burgess.

- Mike Burgess

The farm Eersteling in Limpopo is home to a short but fascinating chapter of our country’s history. It was here that South Africa’s first commercial gold mine was established – more than a decade before the discovery of gold along the Witwatersrand in 1886!

A PROMISE OF RICHES

The story begins with farmer and prospector Jacobus du Preez, who discovered a gold-bearing quartz vein on Eersteling in 1870. At the time, the Transvaal was teeming with prospectors, many from the failed Tati gold rush of the late 1860s in today’s Botswana, and Du Preez asked Natal-based prospector Edward Button to have a look at the vein. Button assured Du Preez that it contained enough gold to produce profits, and promptly named it the Natalia reef in honour of the Colony of Natal.

In September 1871, Button reported Eersteling’s gold deposits to the Transvaal government, and the Volksraad proclaimed the site a public diggings, which soon attracted 30 claimants.