On February 28 Harmony Gold approved the R7.9bn deepening of its Mponeng mine, in Carletonville, west of Joburg. Once the capital work is complete in 2030, the South African miner will be operating at a depth of about 4.1km, making the world’s deepest mine even deeper. The scale and ambition of the Mponeng “extension” — Harmony has forbidden the use of the word “deepening” for the project — is a reminder of South Africa’s former pre-eminence in world gold when, during the 1970s, gold fields stretching from the Witwatersrand to the Free State and Mpumalanga supplied roughly three-quarters of all metal mined annually. ... (full story)