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Article: Secondary minerals from the Carletonville Gold Mines: Witwatesrand Goldfield, South Africa.
- Article from:
- Rocks & Minerals
- Article date:
- November 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The finest crystals of pyrrhotite and cubanite in southern Africa were recently discovered at one of the deepest mines in the world, the Mponeng mine, situated in the Witwatersrand goldfield in South Africa. Coincidentally, huge barite crystals, more than 50 cm, were also found at a neighboring mine. Aesthetic specimens of galena, sphalerite, quartz, and calcite occur as well.
The Witwatersrand goldfield is the largest deposit of gold on Earth, dwarfing all others (Frimmel 2002). This ancient placer deposit has produced ten times more gold than the rest of the world's gold mines combined (Cairncross and Dixon 1995). South Africa is still the largest producer of ...