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The History of Silver Mining in the Greater Pretoria Region

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The History of Silver Mining in the Greater Pretoria Region A History of Silver Mining in the greater Pretoria region, 1885-1999 by Graham Walter Reeks submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the subject History at the University of South Africa Supervisor: Professor FA Mouton Co-Supervisor: Professor JCA Boeyens February 2012 Declaration of Authorship I declare that A History of Silver Mining in the greater Pretoria region, 1885-1999 is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ______________ Date: 12th February 2012 signed (Mr) Student number: 32815115 i SUMMARY The mining of silver, although not as significant as the mining of gold, has a history of money being made and lost, as well as instances of fraud and theft. In the late 1880s, when silver and lead deposits were discovered 100 km south-east of Pretoria, the Barnato family was quick to invest and float a company to exploit the deposit. To the north of Pretoria, Alois Nellmapius, later famous as the founder of the Hatherly distillery, established a company to mine a silver and copper rich deposit. The Strubens, pioneers of the Witwatersrand gold fields, discovered a silver rich copper deposit on their farm ‘The Willows’ east of Pretoria. The successful silver mining companies listed on the Stock Exchange in Johannesburg soon attracted the attention of the Randlords of Johannesburg and specifically that of H Eckstein & Co. The development of the company’s activities in silver mining in the 1880s and 1890s forms a significant part of this study. The relationship between the mine owners and their managers during the nineteenth century is explored, along with local and international events in politics and economics that had an impact on the mining of silver in South Africa over the period from 1885 to 1999. Silver mining in South Africa has had a ‘rise and fall’ life from the 1880s with three significant periods of investment, mining activity and decline. As with most commodities, prices vary over time. The international metals market has been a dominant factor in the life of the silver mines of greater Pretoria. The relationship between rising and falling international metal prices, and the operating lives of the mines, form a theme throughout this dissertation as it will be shown that the operating periods all coincided with periods of strong metal prices. In the one hundred and fourteen years, coupled with large tonnages of base metals – lead, copper and zinc - the mines produced over ninety-three tons of silver. Over thirty silver mines and ventures were revealed during the research, but discussing all of them in this dissertation was not feasible. It is therefore limited to the history of the seven mines that produced the greatest amounts of silver and other metals such as lead, copper and zinc and how their individual and interrelated histories together form the dominant part of the history of silver mining in the greater Pretoria region. Graham Reeks February 2012 ii CONTENTS page Figures v Maps – Tables – Graph – Glossary of acronyms vi Measurements and Currencies – Technical terms – Bibliographic notes vii Abbreviations viii Early newspapers in Johannesburg ix PREFACE x Sources xix Acknowledgements xxi CHAPTER 1 -- 1 THE SILVER INDUSTRY OF PRETORIA - ECONOMICS AND POLITICS The demonetisations of silver by the United States of America. Impact of politics on the international silver market. The economic depression in Johannesburg 1890 – 1892. H Eckstein Company. Eckstein’s Corner House creates a presence in Pretoria. Kruger wants to open the silver mines as a public digging. H Eckstein & Co and Kruger’s bank and railway. The Jameson Raid – Reform Committee and its impact on the silver mines. Strike and Revolt – power to the miners 1907-1922. The 1920s rise in the price of silver and the role played by Germany. Analysis of the prices of lead and silver 1882 to 1999 – results & conclusions. CHAPTER 2 -- 28 MIXED FORTUNES: THE ALBERT, WILLOWS AND EDENDALE MINES The Albert (Silver) Mine Ltd 1885. The Willows Copper (Argentiferous) Syndicate Ltd 1884. The Edendale Silver – Lead Mines 1890. CHAPTER 3 -- 69 THE ‘ARGENT MINES’, 1885 – 1899 Pretoria Far Southeast district – the Argent area – Argent mines. Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd 1889. Witpoortje Syndicate Ltd – Boschpoort and Brakfontein mines, 1891. Pretoria Silver & Lead Co Ltd 1892. iii CHAPTER 4 -- 102 THE ‘ARGENT MINES’ IN THE 20th CENTURY, 1900 -1999 Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd and the damage of the Anglo-Boer War. The tribute miners. Brakfontein and Boschpoort Mines 1906-1912. Dwarsfontein Galena 1919-1920. Transvaal Silver and Base Metals Ltd 1919-1927. Pretoria Silver Lead Company Ltd 1920-1926. Transvaal Galena (Pty) Ltd 1940-1947. Boschpoort Lead Mine Ltd 1951-1954. Argent Lead and Zinc (Pty) Ltd 1952-1977. OTR Mining Ltd 1999. CHAPTER 5 -- 143 REFLECTIONS ON THE SILVER MINING INDUSTRY OF THE GREATER PRETORIA REGION BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 APPENDICES 158 iv QUOTATIONS These quotations are personal inspirations. “The silver industry promises to be a very good thing and it will be advisable to take influential friends in with us”.1 Lionel Phillips Chairman of Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd in a letter to A. Beit in London dated 23 May 1891 in which he was discussing the development of the Argent mines and clearly expected silver mining to become a major producer of revenue. Perhaps the most personal and poignant quotation for this dissertation In the Gold Fields ‘Argent Project FSJ de Jager’s reports’ file, de Jager comments on the attachment of the 1920s technical advisors and mine manager’s reports of the Transvaal Silver & Base Metal mine to his 1989 final reports on the geology of the various Argent deposits.2 “To have summarised these very interesting reports, would have meant detraction from their intrinsic worth. They are therefore presented as is, for the serious student of the Argent base metal deposits.” Having met Dr de Jager a few years before he passed away, I take to heart his comment and thank him for his foresight, that one day they would be used to reconstruct the history of the silver mines. Because of the interdisciplinary approach of this dissertation - using historical documents, photographs, archaeological excavations and analysis of artefacts - to arrive at a history of the silver mining industry of the greater Pretoria region, a quotation by a very famous American historical archaeologist discussing the value of the written record is most appropriate. “This is not to say that we can learn all there is to know just from studying the written record. If this were so, there would be no need to dig into the ground, or to sort, measure and classify artefacts.”3 1 Archives of H Eckstein & Co Ltd. Volume HE 149, p. 663, May 23 1891. 2 File ARG820/1/2 LEA-ZIN de JAGER – Argent Project FSJ de Jager’s Reports 1989, entry 5, ‘A report on the structure and possible remaining economic potential of the main vein - enclosure 3, Extracts from the monthly reports by the Technical Advisor, Jan1923-Oct 1925’, 20 April 1989. 3 J Deetz, In Small Things Forgotten – An Archaeology of Early American Life, p.11. v FIGURES Number Caption Page 1. Alois Hugo Nellmapius c1889. 32 2. Plan of underground workings of the Albert Silver mine. 34 3. Cover of the 1st half-yearly Willows Copper (Argentiferous) Syndicate Ltd report – 1889. 41 4. JWS Langermann. 42 5. Harry Struben. 42 6. Octavius J Skill – mine manager at the Willows mine. 42 7. Financial part of the 1st half-yearly Willows Copper (Argentiferous) Syndicate Ltd 44 Annual General Meeting report. 8. Mine Manager’s report - Willows Copper (Argentiferous) Syndicate Ltd, 1889. 48 9. JB Taylor. 54 10. Hermann Eckstein. 54 11. Early photograph of Edendale mine labelled ‘Silver mine Nooitgedacht 1892.’ 58 12. Plan of underground workings of the Edendale Estates Ltd No 1 mine: 1903-1909. 60 13. General views of the headgear and buildings at Edendale No 1 mine, c1906. 61 14. Main shaft on Edendale No 1 mine, c1921. 63 15. Stamp battery and engine at Edendale No 1 mine, c1921. 63 16. Main shaft headgear and buildings at Edendale No 1 mine, c1921. 63 17. Plan of underground workings of the No 2 mine of Union Silver & Lead Mines Ltd (Edendale) – c 1921. 65 18. Cross-section through the main & prospect shafts of Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd c1889. 72 19. Blake jaw crusher foundation in 2008 75 20. Blake jaw crusher foundation with concentration plant building in 1902 75 21. Sketch of vein crossing a lease boundary & so forming a deep level lease. 78 22. Plan of underground & surface structures of the Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – 1890. 79 23. Historical photograph of the visit of Lord Randolph Churchill to the Transvaal 81 Silver mine in 1891. 24. Andrew Angwin 82 25. Plan of underground & surface structures of the Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – 1892. 86 26. Barney Barnato. 92 27. Lionel Phillips. 92 28. Hennen Jennings. 92 29. Hermann Eckstein. 92 30. Alfred Beit. 92 31. George Farrar. 92 32. Front cover of file for war claims damages to Transvaal Silver Mine Ltd – 1903. 103 33. Supporting document in war damages claim, 1903. 105 34. Damage to Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – mine manager’s house. 106 35. Damage to Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – European miner single quarters. 106 36. Damage to Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – mine assay office. 106 37. Damage to Transvaal Silver Mines Ltd – concentration plant building. 106 38. Boschpoort Silver Mining Syndicate Ltd share certificate, 1907. 110 39. Sir George Albu, Chairman of General Mining & Finance Corporation. 115 40. Share option certificate for the Pretoria Silver & Lead Co Ltd., 1921.
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