Kromdraai Gold Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Ibis Ridge Farm, Kromdraai Road, Kromdraai, 1739, Gauteng. On Ibis Ridge Farm, 12 km north of Krugersdorp. 40 minutes drive from Johannesburg International airport and 20 minutes from Johannesburg city. Gauteng. (-26.002740, 27.848988)
Open:	permanently closed. [2023]
Fee:	permanently closed. [2023]
Classification:	Gold mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Kromdraai Gold Mine, Ibis Ridge Farm, Kromdraai Road, Kromdraai, 1739, Gauteng, Tel: +27-82-259-2162, Tel: +27-73-147-8417.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1881	first gold discovered by Johannes Stephanus Minnaar.
1885	mine opened.
1886	South African gold rush.
1910	mine closed.
1913	mine reopened.
1914	mine closed.
2021	museum was vandalized and the mine closed to visitors.

Geology

Here the Black Reef Formation is mined. See Region Witwatersrand for more info.

Description

The Old Kromdraai Gold Mine is one of the first gold mines on the Witwatersrand. It is located on Ibis Ridge Farm, which also has a contemporary art gallery, a chapel, and the Diggers Trading Post. This was the area of the South African Gold Rush, but this mine actually preceded the gold rush. Kromdraai Gold Mine was one of the most productive mines in the area, with an impressive yield of around 25 grams per ore ton.

The tour takes about an hour, and 45 minutes are actually underground, explaining traditional mining methods. There are some wooden buildings with period tools and machinery, and a horizontal tunnel which is almost as it was in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The location only 40 minutes’ drive from the Johannesburg city centre and right in the middle of the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site should be ideal for a tourist venue, nevertheless this show mine was closed permanently. It was vandlized in 2021, and during the pandemic it was not reopened. We will see if it will be reopened after the pandemic is over.