Misplaced Pages

#326673

59-597: Hartbeesfontein , officially Lethabong , is a settlement near Klerksdorp , in the North West province of South Africa. It is situated at the intersection of the R503 and R507 routes. The town is situated on an ancient geological feature known as the Hartbeesfontein basin (or KOSH basin), which is the source of the gold found on its southern rim. Underground water occurs in abundance in dolomitic aquifers of

118-567: A ban on the use of cyanide in mining (see 2013 Romanian protests against the Roșia Montană Project ). In the EU, industrial use of hazardous chemicals is controlled by the so-called Seveso II Directive (Directive 96/82/EC, which replaced the original Seveso Directive (82/501/EEC brought in after the 1976 dioxin disaster. "Free cyanide and any compound capable of releasing free cyanide in solution" are further controlled by being on List I of

177-667: A commission of inquiry into the matter was established. However, both Stilfontein and Orkney's city council rejected the idea of amalgamation in 1980. All of the South African major banks like FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Capitec Bank have branches in the city. Together with Rustenburg , Klerksdorp forms the economic heart of North West Province. It is one of the hubs of the South African gold mining industry, although its importance has been decreasing in recent years. A major earthquake in March 2005 caused significant damage to

236-456: A contingent of Lord Methuen led by Captain Poison, were descending the 500 ft escarpment above town, when they were confronted by entrenched Boer forces of about double their number. From dawn to 10 o'clock the forces were deadlocked, when Lord Methuen ordered two companies of Major Murray 's convoy guard to occupy a strategic position. After some dozens of soldiers were killed on each side,

295-478: A decline in the gold mining industry. This also led to an early demise for the Stock Exchange that stood empty for many years, were converted to a cinema in 1912 and finally being demolished in 1958. The amalgamation process used to extract the gold from the crushed ore was relatively inefficient and largely contributed to decline. By 1893 the new MacArthur–Forrest process used for gold extraction brought

354-555: A detoxification step. This step lowers the concentrations of these cyanide compounds. The INCO-licensed process and the Caro's acid process oxidise the cyanide to cyanate , which is not as toxic as the cyanide ion, and which can then react to form carbonates and ammonia: The Inco process can typically lower cyanide concentrations to below 50 mg/L, whereas the Caro's acid process can lower cyanide levels to between 10 and 50 mg/L, with

413-635: A separate one for Africans (situated in the area that is today the Ellaton and Neserhof suburbs). The most famous of the battles around Klerksdorp, is that of the Battle of Ysterspruit ("Iron Stream"), in which the Boer general Koos de la Rey achieved a great victory. The battle is one of the most celebrated of the general's career, being the battle in which the Boer soldiers pioneered the art of firing from horseback. On April 11, 1902, Rooiwal, near Klerksdorp, saw

472-618: A short-lived revival in the Klerksdorp gold mining industry, but uncertainty created by the Jameson Raid of December 1895 as well as transport problems created by the rinderpest of 1896 soon led to a near collapse of the industry. During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), heavy fighting occurred in the area, which also housed two large concentration camps , one for Whites (centred on modern day Klerksdorp High School) and

531-489: A town. The Executive Council had a sketch map of the town drawn up in 1871 and according to article 196 of the minutes dated 18 January 1872 the town regulations were approved. In November 1885 gold was discovered in the Klerksdorp district by M. G. Jansen van Vuuren as well as on the Witwatersrand , which lies about 160 km (99 mi) to the east. As a consequence, thousands of fortune-seekers descended on

590-462: Is added to the extracting solution to ensure that the acidity during cyanidation is maintained over pH 10.5 - strongly basic. Lead nitrate can improve gold leaching speed and quantity recovered, particularly in processing partially oxidized ores. Oxygen is one of the reagents consumed during cyanidation, accepting the electrons from the gold, and a deficiency in dissolved oxygen slows leaching rate. Air or pure oxygen gas can be purged through

649-841: Is also served by many regional roads. The R30 Road begins 16 kilometres north of Bloemfontein Central as an off-ramp of the N1 Highway (northbound only). From the R502 junction , the R30 continues northwards for 12 kilometres to enter the city as Church Street (Passing through the city centre) and reach an intersection with the N12 Highway as Chris Hani Road. The R503 is a Regional Route in North West that connects Mahikeng with Klerksdorp via Lichtenburg and Coligny . From Hartbeesfontein ,

SECTION 10

#1732791507327

708-410: Is cheap, effective, and biodegradable, its high toxicity & increasingly poor impact on a mine's political and social license to operate, has incentivized alternative methods for extracting gold. Other extractants have been examined including thiosulfate (S 2 O 3 ), thiourea (SC(NH 2 ) 2 ), iodine/iodide, ammonia, liquid mercury, and alpha- cyclodextrin . Challenges include reagent cost and

767-739: Is less clear. According to Romanian authorities, in the Someș river below Baia Mare , the plankton returned to 60% of normal within 16 days of the spill; the numbers were not confirmed by Hungary or Yugoslavia. Famous cyanide spills include: Such spills have prompted fierce protests at new mines that involve use of cyanide, such as Roşia Montană in Romania, Lake Cowal in Australia, Pascua Lama in Chile, and Bukit Koman in Malaysia. Although cyanide

826-600: Is the family of glycine-based lixiviants . The US states of Montana and Wisconsin , the Czech Republic , Hungary , have banned cyanide mining. The European Commission rejected a proposal for such a ban, noting that existing regulations (see below) provide adequate environmental and health protection. Several attempts to ban gold cyanidation in Romania were rejected by the Romanian Parliament. There are currently protests in Romania calling for

885-421: Is the most commonly used leaching process for gold extraction . Cyanidation is also widely used in the extraction of silver, usually after froth flotation . Production of reagents for mineral processing to recover gold represents more than 70% of cyanide consumption globally. Other metals are recovered from the process include copper, zinc, and silver, but gold is the main driver of this technology. Due to

944-615: The Free State Gold Rush , causing the town to undergo an economic revival, which accelerated after World War II . The first local newspaper, "The Klerksdorp Pioneer" was published in 1887. In November 1888 it was replaced by George Vickers's newspaper "The Representative". This in turn was replaced by H.M Guest's "Klerksdorp Mining Record" in August 1899. It still exist as the "Klerksdorp Record". In 1865, twenty-eight years after Klerksdorp had been founded, James Taylor opened

1003-690: The Groundwater Directive (Directive 80/68/EEC) which bans any discharge of a size which might cause deterioration in the quality of the groundwater at the time or in the future. The Groundwater Directive was largely replaced in 2000 by the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). In response to the 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill , the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2006/21/EC on

1062-525: The Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work towards "a democratic and just society without racial divisions". The life work of Desmond Tutu has been to heal the scars left among the descendants of the many battles for control of South Africa. There is an irony of his birthplace set amidst Boer monuments and old battlefields, early settlements by those same Boers, among them famous leaders like Jacob de Clerq , even close to Witwatersrand where gold

1121-527: The Transvaal Republic . The most prominent of the first settlers was Hendrik Grobler who claimed a farm of about 160 km (62 sq mi), called it Elandsheuwel ("Hill of the Eland "). He gave plots of land and communal grazing rights on this farm to other Voortrekkers in return for their labour in building a dam and an irrigation canal. This collection of smallholdings was later given

1180-522: The "town of Klerksdorp" when the residents requested additional pieces of land. Seven years later, in 1857, state attorney J. H. Visagie wrote to government secretary C. Moll that it was desirable that regulations be drawn up for Klerksdorp. President M. W. Pretorius then issued regulations for Klerksdorp and Skoonspruit in 1859. In a letter to the President, magistrate Cornelis Johannes Bodenstein of Potchefstroom in 1863 also designated Klerksdorp as

1239-483: The Anglo-Boer War, railway lines were extended to other parts of the country. In 1905 the line was extended to Vierfontein and Kroonstad . In 1906 Veertienstrome line was opened connecting Klerksdorp and Cape Town . In 1928 the link with Hartebeesfontein and Ottosdal followed. The South African state-owned power company ESKOM operates several substations in the city. After the discovery of gold,

SECTION 20

#1732791507327

1298-501: The Battle of Rooiwal, the last major engagement of the war, where a Boer charge was beaten off by entrenched British troops. The graves of the victims of both the concentration camps can still be visited today in the Old Cemetery Complex just outside town, numbering just below a thousand. Today Klerksdorp is celebrated as the birthplace of Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu on October 7, 1931. He received

1357-644: The British secured the pass and captured ample Boer supplies of stock and grain. Klerksdorp The city was founded in 1837 or 1838 when the Voortrekkers settled on the banks of the Schoonspruit   ("Clear stream"), which flows through the town. Klerksdorp is the oldest European settlement north of the Vaal River , and thus of the former Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R), also known as

1416-536: The McArthur Forrest Cyanide Process, and mentioned earlier) made it possible to recover most of the gold contents which had hitherto been lost. This process signalled a new era of prosperity and brought about a revival, since advantage was taken of the newly-discovered methods and cyanide plants were built on several local mines. Though the depression in the town was bad, several mines continued in production, and, coupled with agriculture,

1475-545: The R503 goes south-east for 20 kilometres to enter the city of Klerksdorp and reach its terminus at a T-junction with the N12 National Route in the suburb of Freemanvile (west of the town centre; north of Jouberton. The first rail connection was that from Krugersdorp in 1897, the station was built by Netherlands–South African Railway Company and officially opened by President Kruger on the 3 August 1897. Just after

1534-463: The city [REDACTED]   Lesotho P.C Pelser Airport is a medium-sized airport in South Africa, serving the region of Klerksdorp. The airport is mostly used by private local residents. For scheduled international and domestic air services, Klerksdorp is currently served by O.R Tambo International Airport . The N12 is the major freeway that runs through Klerksdorp. Klerksdorp

1593-410: The consumption of cyanide to thiocyanate (SCN ) byproduct. In order of decreasing economic efficiency, the common processes for recovery of the solubilized gold from solution are (certain processes may be precluded from use by technical factors): The cyanide remaining in tails streams from gold plants is potentially hazardous. Therefore, some operations process the cyanide-containing waste streams in

1652-420: The dissolution of gold, the "Elsner equation", follows: Potassium cyanide and calcium cyanide are sometimes used in place of sodium cyanide. Gold is one of the few metals that dissolves in the presence of cyanide ions and oxygen. The soluble gold species is dicyanoaurate . from which it can be recovered by adsorption onto activated carbon. The ore is comminuted using grinding machinery. Depending on

1711-1253: The district. Klerksdorp has the largest agricultural co-op in the southern hemisphere , named ' Senwes '. The farming district is also known for its Sussex cattle herds - the city is the headquarters of the South African Sussex Cattle Breeders Association. Several national departments and agencies have branches offices in the city ( SARS and the Department of Home Affairs ) In the city, there are numerous schools catered to primary and secondary schooling, as well as public and private. The private schools for example are Klerksdorp Christian Academy, Curro Castle Klerksdorp, Methodist Primary School, Kingston Primary School, and Ashton John's School. The public schools consist of Klerksdorp Primary School, Hoërskool Klerksdorp, Technical High School, Hoërskool Schoonspruit, Goudkop Primary School, Milner High School , Wesvalia High School, Laerskool La Hoff, Janie Schneider School, Laerskool Saamtrek, Manzilpark Primary School, Laerskool Meiringspark, Keurhof School, and New Vision Secondary School. The following countries have consulates in

1770-477: The doors of the dofF's first trading store. During 1871 he was joined in a partnership by Thomas Smith Leask, a retired elephant-hunter and trader. The store, known as "Taylor and Leask", was the only one at Klerksdorp and became the centre of the town's activities and the rendezvous of hunters and traders who brought ivory and skins from the "interior" (Matebeleland and Mashonaland) and refitted for their next expedition. Both Taylor and Leask were on friendly terms with

1829-456: The eastern suburb of Stilfontein and caused widespread damage to mining activities. It is expected to be a large uranium producer in the future. Apart from mining, Klerksdorp is positioned as a notable medical, retail and educational centre for North West Province and Northern Free State. The Klerksdorp district is a major contributor to South African agriculture ; maize , sorghum , groundnuts and sunflower are important crops farmed in

Hartbeesfontein - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-429: The efficiency of gold recovery, although some chlorination process using sodium hypochloride (household bleach) have shown promise in terms or reagent regeneration. These technologies are at a pre-commercialisation stage and compare favourably to equivalent cyanidation methods, including gold recovery percentage. Thiourea has been implemented commercially for ores containing stibnite. Yet another alternative to cyanidation

1947-439: The engine of the newly-installed five-stamp battery. The conventional bottle of champagne was broken and refreshments were served. After several mines had installed the new cyanide process, the gold output, which was merely about 7 000 ounces in 1890, increasesd to 10 967 in 1892 and 12 780 in 1893. By the end of 1895 there were 25 companies in existence and the gold output soared to a phenomenal 71 776 ounces -it now appeared as if

2006-527: The gold industry in Klerksdorp was firmly established and the depression of the late eighties was finally shaken off. Klerksdorp has a semi-arid climate ( BSk , according to the Köppen climate classification ), with warm to hot summers and cool, dry winters. The average annual precipitation is 482 mm (19 in), with most rainfall occurring mainly during summer. Klerksdorp is divided into 35 suburbs List of suburbs Klerksdorp's black residential area

2065-522: The government during the late 1880s and early 1890s was overwhelmed by the request of citizens of the town with electricity or gas. A concession for the supply of electricity was indeed granted to A. Barnard and A.P.J. Cronje. However, due to the already mentioned slump in the gold mining industry, the further setback with rinderpest and the Second Freedom War , citizens were not fortunate enough to enjoy these luxuries early. The power station

2124-511: The highly poisonous nature of cyanide , the process is controversial and its use is banned in some parts of the world. Cyanide can be safely used in the gold mining industry. A key feature for safe use of cyanide is to ensure adequate pH control at an alkaline pH level above 10.5. At industrial scale, pH control is mainly achieved using lime, as an important enabling reagent in gold processing. In 1783, Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered that gold dissolved in aqueous solutions of cyanide. Through

2183-434: The introduction of cyanide) of the ore in water at high pH can render elements such as iron and sulfur less reactive to cyanide, therefore making the gold cyanidation process more efficient. Specifically, the oxidation of iron to iron (III) oxide and subsequent precipitation as iron hydroxide minimizes loss of cyanide from the formation of ferrous cyanide complexes. The oxidation of sulfur compounds to sulfate ions avoids

2242-578: The less-toxic products, such as cyanates and thiocyanates, may persist for some years. The famous disasters have killed few people — humans can be warned not to drink or go near polluted water, but cyanide spills can have a devastating effect on rivers, sometimes killing everything for several miles downstream. The cyanide could be washed out of river systems and, as long as organisms can migrate from unpolluted areas upstream, affected areas can soon be repopulated. Longer term impact and accumulation of cyanide in riparian or limnological benthos and environmental fate

2301-567: The lower concentrations achievable in solution streams rather than slurries. Caro's acid – peroxomonosulfuric acid (H 2 SO 5 ) - converts cyanide to cyanate. Cyanate then hydrolyses to ammonium and carbonate ions. The Caro's acid process is able to achieve discharge levels of Weak Acid Dissociable" (WAD) cyanide below 50 mg/L, which is generally suitable for discharge to tailings. Hydrogen peroxide and basic chlorination can also be used to oxidize cyanide, although these approaches are less common. Typically, this process blows compressed air through

2360-509: The majority of the hunters and F .C. Selous, a prolific letter-writer, visited the town several times. In one of his letters he mentioned that it had cost him £1 600 to outfit at the Klerksdorp store. When Taylor died of fever in 1878, Thomas Leask bought out Mrs Taylor and re-established the firm on his own account, as "Thomas Leask and Co. The introduction in April 1890 of a new gold recovery process by Mr John S. McArthur and Dr Forrest (known as

2419-549: The management of waste from extractive industries. Article 13(6) requires "the concentration of weak acid dissociable cyanide in the pond is reduced to the lowest possible level using best available techniques ", and at most all mines started after 1 May 2008 may not discharge waste containing over 10ppm WAD cyanide, mines built or permitted before that date are allowed no more than 50ppm initially, dropping to 25ppm in 2013 and 10ppm by 2018. Under Article 14, companies must also put in place financial guarantees to ensure clean-up after

Hartbeesfontein - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-633: The name of Klerksdorp in honour of the first landdrost ( magistrate ) of the area, Jacob de Clercq. Although Klerksdorp was officially proclaimed a town only in 1888, long before that it was considered a town not only by its residents, but also by visitors and even by authorities. In 1850 the Rev. A. Murray mentioned the "town on the Schoonspruit" during his trip through the Transvaal. In the same year, an official document, an inspection report, spoke of

2537-530: The old industrial area, but in 1956 the surveying of Alabama, the new residential area, began. Two years later, in 1958, the layout of the residential area began. The greater city area surrounding Klerksdorp incorporates the towns of Orkney , Kanana , Stilfontein , Khuma, Hartbeesfontein and Tigane, giving it a population of more than 350,000 inhabitants. Due to their geographical location and interconnectedness, there has been talk of amalgamation between Klerksdorp, Stilfontein and Orkney since 1975 and in 1979

2596-459: The ore, it is sometimes further concentrated by froth flotation or by centrifugal (gravity) concentration . Water is added to produce a slurry or pulp . The basic ore slurry can be combined with a solution of sodium cyanide or potassium cyanide ; many operations use calcium cyanide , which is more cost effective. To prevent the creation of toxic hydrogen cyanide during processing, slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide ) or soda ( sodium hydroxide )

2655-477: The pond at Baia Mare . Remaining free cyanide degrades in the pond, while cyanate ions hydrolyse to ammonium. Studies show that residual cyanide trapped in the gold-mine tailings causes persistent release of toxic metals (e.g. mercury ) into the groundwater and surface water systems. Despite being used in 90% of gold production: gold cyanidation is controversial due to the toxic nature of cyanide. Although aqueous solutions of cyanide degrade rapidly in sunlight,

2714-453: The pulp to maximize the dissolved oxygen concentration. Intimate oxygen-pulp contactors are used to increase the partial pressure of the oxygen in contact with the solution, thus raising the dissolved oxygen concentration much higher than the saturation level at atmospheric pressure . Oxygen can also be added by dosing the pulp with hydrogen peroxide solution. In some ores, particularly those that are partially sulfidized, aeration (prior to

2773-457: The region. When the water is however allowed to seep into mines it is oxidised and polluted by the exposed iron pyrites . As of 2005 when Buffelsfontein mine went out of business, it became a burden on the remaining mines to keep the interconnected tunnels free of water. A small pass above town, Hartebeesfontein Poort, was the scene of a Boer War skirmish on February 17, 1901. The British forces,

2832-556: The slots get too much, you can always head out on safari. At 266,330 square feet (24,743 m ), it is one of the largest casinos in the Southern Hemisphere. Gold cyanidation Gold cyanidation (also known as the cyanide process or the MacArthur–Forrest process ) is a hydrometallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water-soluble coordination complex . It

2891-506: The slump was survived. Subsequent periods of depression and slumps have since hit the Klerksdorp district, but they have been mild in comparison with the dreadful experiences of 1889 and 1890. During December 1892 Thomas Leask, Managing Director of the Nooitgedacht mine, brought a glimmer of hope to some 200 people whom he addressed at the mine. He told the crowd that one thousand ounces of gold had been extracted. His daughter Lulu started

2950-426: The small village, turning it into a town with 70 taverns and even a stock exchange of its own. This stock exchange opened its doors in 1888 and soon did a roaring trade, selling as much as the equivalent of R20,000 in one day. However, the nature of the gold reef demanded expensive and sophisticated equipment to mine and extract the gold, causing the majority of diggers to move away in the late 1890s and leading to

3009-424: The tailings while adding sodium metabisulfite , which releases SO 2 . Lime is added to maintain the pH at around 8.5, and copper sulfate is added as a catalyst if there is insufficient copper in the ore extract. This procedure can reduce concentrations of WAD cyanide to below the 10 ppm mandated by the EU's Mining Waste Directive. This level compares to the 66-81 ppm free cyanide and 500-1000 ppm total cyanide in

SECTION 50

#1732791507327

3068-610: The then available chemical processes or technologies. In 1887, John Stewart MacArthur , working in collaboration with brothers Robert and William Forrest for the Tennant Company in Glasgow , Scotland, developed the MacArthur–Forrest process for the extraction of gold from gold ores. Several patents were issued in the same year. By suspending the crushed ore in a cyanide solution, a separation of up to 96 percent pure gold

3127-518: The town, the then city council was finally obliged to undertake the relocation. In 1949, construction began on the first 32 houses in the new black residential area, Jouberton. Originally it would be the name Joubertina , named after councilor Jan Joubert. Because there was already a town with this name in the Cape Province (now Eastern Cape ), it was changed to Jouberton to avoid confusion. The Colored people first lived in an area adjacent to

3186-458: The work of Bagration (1844), Elsner (1846), and Faraday (1847), it was determined that each atom of gold required two cyanide ions, i.e. the stoichiometry of the soluble compound. The expansion of gold mining in the Rand of South Africa began to slow down in the 1880s, as the new deposits being found tended to contain pyritic ore . The gold could not be extracted from this compound with any of

3245-544: Was achieved. The process was first used on the Rand in 1890 and, despite operational imperfections, led to a boom of investment as larger gold mines were opened up. By 1891, Nebraska pharmacist Gilbert S. Peyton had refined the process at his Mercur Mine in Utah, "the first mining plant in the United States to make a commercial success of the cyanide process on gold ores." In 1896, Bodländer confirmed that oxygen

3304-442: Was discovered. He somehow managed to rise beyond pettiness and division to bring all these forces together with displaced native peoples in places such as this creating an international role model. He was later awarded multiple worldwide honours for his achievements in the reconciliation of the ethnic and cultural divisions in the history of his country. [1] The gold mining industry was revived by large mining companies in 1932 during

3363-413: Was laid out in 1907 south of the town where the residential areas of Neserhof and Ellaton are today. Already in 1924, there was talk of moving the blacks, but it was decided to let it stand until the financial problems associated with such a move were resolved. In 1935 and 1936, the city council once again decided to move them, but this was not carried out either. With a view to the southward expansion of

3422-558: Was later enlarged and replaced in 1934 by a new scheme, which was erected at a cost of R65 000. Ten years later, in 1944, the city council decided to no longer operate its own power station and since then the power has been supplied to the Electricity Supply Commission (ESKOM). The resort takes its name and inspiration from the Brazilian city, bringing a carnival atmosphere to the former Transvaal Republic. If

3481-531: Was necessary for the process, something that had been doubted by MacArthur, and discovered that hydrogen peroxide was formed as an intermediate. Around 1900, the American metallurgist Charles Washington Merrill (1869–1956) and his engineer Thomas Bennett Crowe improved the treatment of the cyanide leachate, by using vacuum and zinc dust. Their process is the Merrill–Crowe process . The chemical reaction for

#326673