The end of an era creeping closer

The exodus of mining corporations from Johannesburg’s central business district is almost complete.

- David McKay

South Africa’s mining ‘houses’ were so described to convey the sense of sprawling corporatisation that through time came to typify the ownership patterns of the country’s mineral resources. But to call a thing a house also suggests a certain physical confidence.

Thus, Johannesburg’s Main Street had its tapestried Anglo American headquarters; Fox Street was where Gold Fields of SA resided with its airy, marbled reception in front of which the bust of founder Cecil John Rhodes stood, atop a plinth; a piece of statuary that would surely be in jeopardy today.

Consolidated Building, opposite the JCI building on Harrison Street (until it was sold for R6m following the company’s dissolution) contained a charming, hand-operated lift, reputed to date from when Johannesburg really was just a mining town.