EERSTELING GOLD MINE (CLOSED DOWN 1980)

This is the Grass Valley Chrome Mine location. Not sure where the photo was taken.

Nigel, this photo was taken adjacent to the monument that marks the spot where the first gold was discovered that still display machines from that area. The mine that includes a 500m shaft was closed down when it was taken over by a Canadean concortium that includes Barbrook goldmine in Baberton.

I thought this was not the Grass Valley Chrome mine. I guess the Photo is therefore misplaced as there is certainly no gold in the Grass Valley mine. Hope this helps to find the right spot for it.

thanks

The position for Eesterling Mine is correct as marked - Gras Vallei lies some 30km to the S, SE of Mokopane. Exploration, mostly through underground development, commenced at Eesterling in about 1982 when the project was controlled by Utah International. The development of a mining operation took place under the auspices of Severin/Southern Sphere in about 1987 after a market capitalisation of about R70X10^6. The project petered out in about 1990 through overcapitalisation and massive debt. As far as I know, the mine now belongs to Standard Bank.

Oh Ja - and there is a chance of gold mineralisation at Gras Vallei, due to the possible presense of the Merensky Reef at depth below the chromitite seams. Gras Vallei purportedly contained some of the highest grade chromite reserves in the Bushveld, due either to the faulted nature of the orebody, which would have resulted in hydrothermal activity along fracture lines, resulting in the leaching of iron oxide from the ore and the concomitant upgrading of the chrome oxide therein or, more interestingly, due to the sale of smuggled Rhodesian chrome ore from this site during the sanctions era.