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Mponeng Gold Mine

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4 km deep gold mine in Gauteng province near Johannesburg, South
Africa

                               Mponeng
Mponeng-goudmyn, Merafong City-pm, Wesrand-dm, a.jpg
Above-ground operations at Mponeng mine.
                              Location
Mponeng is located in South Africa
Mponeng
Mponeng
Location in South Africa
 Province   Gauteng
  Country   South Africa
            26deg26'10''S 27deg25'50''E / 26.43611degS 27.43056degE / 
Coordinates -26.43611; 27.43056Coordinates: 26deg26'10''S 27deg25'50''E / 
            26.43611degS 27.43056degE / -26.43611; 27.43056
                                Owner
  Company   Harmony Gold
  Website   https://www.harmony.co.za

Mponeng is a gold mine in South Africa's Gauteng province. Previously
known as Western Deep Levels #1 Shaft, the underground and surface
works were commissioned in 1987. It extends over 4 kilometres
(2.5 mi) below the surface,^[1] and is considered to be one of the
most substantial gold mines in the world.^[2] It is also currently
the world's deepest mine from ground level,^[3] reaching a depth of
4 km (2.5 mi) below ground level. The trip from the surface to the
bottom of the mine takes over an hour.^[1]

Over 5400 metric tonnes of rock are excavated from Mponeng each day.^
[1] At a price of $19.4 per gram of gold, the mine only needs to
extract 10 grams of gold per ton excavated to remain profitable.^[1]
The mine contains at least two gold reefs, with the deepest one metre
thick.^[1]

Harmony Gold purchased Mponeng from AngloGold Ashanti in September
2020. Along with AGA's Mine Waste Solutions, Harmony paid
approximately $300m.

Physical conditions[edit]

The temperature of the rock reaches 66 degC (151 degF), and the mine
pumps slurry ice underground to cool the tunnel air to below 30 degC
(86 degF).^[1] A mixture of concrete, water, and rock is packed into
excavated areas, which further acts as an insulator.^[1] Tunnel walls
are secured by flexible shotcrete reinforced with steel fibers, which
is further held in place by diamond-mesh netting.^[1]

In 2008, researchers looking for extremophile organisms discovered
the bacterium Desulforudis audaxviator present within groundwater
samples from kilometers deep in the mine.^[4]

In popular culture[edit]

Danny Forster visited the mine for the fifth episode of Build It
Bigger's eighth season.

Millan Ludena, an Ecuadorian marathon runner, became the first person
to run a half-marathon fully underground in the deepest part of
Mponeng Gold Mine. A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand
to document the race and issued the certificate for the deepest
half-marathon.^[5]

References[edit]

# Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mponeng Gold Mine.

 1. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Wadhams, Nick (March 2011), "Gold
    Standards: How miners dig for riches in a 2-mile-deep furnace",
    Wired, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 42.
 2. ^ "Mponeng, South Africa". Mining Technology. Retrieved 9 May
    2011.
 3. ^ World's ten deepest mines
 4. ^ Timmer, John (9 October 2008). "In the deep, a community of
    one". Ars Technica. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
 5. ^ Garcia, Sergio (23 September 2017). "Ecuadorian sets record in
    run 4,000m below surface". Anadolu Agency.


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Mponeng_Gold_Mine&oldid=1084898657"
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