From Grassland to Global Giant
In February 1886, an Australian prospector named George Harrison stumbled upon an outcrop of the Main Reef on the farm Langlaagte. What he found was the largest gold-bearing ore deposit ever discovered on Earth - the Witwatersrand Basin.
Harrison sold his claim for £10 and disappeared into history. But his discovery triggered the greatest gold rush in history.
September: A tent settlement emerges. Population: ~3,000 fortune seekers.
The Name: "Johannesburg" officially proclaimed, named after either mining commissioner Johann Rissik or President Paul Kruger (both "Johannes").
10 Years Later: Population explodes to 100,000+. Railways connect the city. Stock exchange established.
Industrial Giant: Johannesburg becomes the economic capital of South Africa, mining deeper and deeper.
Today: The metro area hosts 5.6 million people. Gold mining continues 4km underground. The legacy lives on.
The distinctive yellow hills surrounding Johannesburg are mine dumps - mountains of sand created from crushed rock extracted during gold mining. These artificial hills have become part of the city's iconic skyline.
Modern technology allows re-mining these dumps to extract gold that 19th-century methods missed. The dumps are literally being recycled for profit in 2026!
How deep do Johannesburg's gold mines go? Scroll down to explore the depths compared to the world's tallest building.
The streets of Johannesburg - 1,753m above sea level
Shallow mining operations (1886-1900s)
Mid-depth operations - Temperature rising
If you inverted the world's tallest building underground, you'd still be in the shallow mines!
Deep-level mining begins. Rock temperature: 40°C+
Extreme depths - Specialized cooling systems required
Ultra-deep mining. Rock temperature: 60°C+
🏆 THE WORLD'S DEEPEST GOLD MINE
Miners work nearly 4 kilometers below the surface. The journey down takes over an hour. Rock temperatures exceed 65°C, cooled to 30°C for workers.
That's 13,123 feet - deeper than the Grand Canyon!
The Witwatersrand Basin contains an estimated 40% of all the gold ever mined on Earth.
Total gold produced from Johannesburg's mines since 1886.
And the mines are still producing. Modern technology extracts gold from ever-deeper levels.