America's African heritage; 22

The National Association of educational broadcasters presents America's African heritage recorded in Africa by Skip Westfall program 20 to the gold mines at Johannesburg. Part two here is Kip Westfall program comes to you today from the flute playing live 30 miles from Johannesburg South Africa. Those of you heard last week's program will recall a description of our descent into the mine by means of a mining elevator to a depth of 3200 feet. That's how we travel by underground train for a distance of a mile and a half. Then by foot another half mile into one of the tunnels to observe the mining operation we're now in the far end of the time where several African miners are drilling into a 12 inch wide strip of gold bearing or to prepare for the blasting. Beside me is Mr. Charles Barkley official of the Chamber of Mines who is acting as my guide. I might add too that he's been kind enough to give me a hand with my tape recorder. Well it weighs only 800 pounds a little machine begins to feel pretty heavy when you're climbing up and down the stairs and

over a jagged rock sometimes on your hands and knees. Well this mine as is true of all of mines is certainly ventilated it gets money hot this is the first time in my life that I've had the experience of sweating out a Turkish bath 3000 feet below the surface of the earth. Mr. Barkley using to be standing this strenuous activity better than I. Would you take over the microphone for a moment then explain what happens to this gold bearing or after the blasting has taken it lives. Yes Mr. West for the explosive charges up put in the face and this set off and after that the ore is tons bolted to the surface. That happens the next day after the fumes from the explosion have been cleared from the mine and the next morning at the mine workers come in and they clear away the All they are is taken out by means of us of a winch and a scraper winch. That's right yes and we get a recording of that.

Yes you can. Know. What you mean. That was the sound of the wince you just heard. Now that we have seen the winch in operation we've been able to observe about the entire mining operation everywhere you have. Yes underground except the blasting. Yes you can't see that because and that nobody really sees that at all they're walking out when those charges go off. Visitors aren't allowed in the mine during the blast No not at that time. Well I'll admit I have no desire to be down here in the mine during that blasting

operation. Let's make our way back to the place where we can pick up the train which will take us back to the elevator. We're now back on the platform alongside the rail tracks. We can see a light up at the far end of that in a moment we'll get a recording of the sound of the approaching train and we'll carry on after we have reached the surface. We're back now at the surface of the mine after a swift ride in the elevator traveling at a speed of 3000 feet a minute faster in fact than any elevator in New York

City. We made the trip to the surface you know absolute darkness so you couldn't see your hand before your face and it was a relief to step out once more into the bright sunlight. You know I can think of a good many jobs Mr. Barkley that I prefer working eight hours every day down in the hot humid tunnels of a girl you know I think this tape recorder perform very well. Where at some points natural water was dripping from the ceiling. Don't you think so. Yes I think it's a wonderful machine. And you sometimes have trouble with tape recorders. Yes that has happened before today. Well up to this point we've been out of the gold bearing or from the depths of the mine up the elevator to the reduction plan. What happens to your not just a Viking on the surface Mr. Westfall day and trying to get the ore to us find limits is possible a grind it and crush it to the consistency of a woman's face pad. And what is the next step after this crash then.

And the idea is to dissolve the gold and that is done by adding Cyanide is not the only chemical that is added That is the main chemical in the chemical process yes. That procedure takes place then in what is called the reduction in the reduction plant on the sets which will make a trip through that. Now you will be as you'll be seeing that now that you lead the way and will pick up the recording somewhere along the line. After we have made a tour of the reduction plan. We're standing on a platform about very little number of what appears to you very much think by look at this. Thank you very much. Things go. No it doesn't look like that. But if there isn't it's there if you can't see it nobody can. What would you

get the height of 25 feet. 45 feet down there must be 12 or 15 now I think there are 18 did you say there are some 50 gold mines in the johns but yes there are about 54 in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. And each of them I suppose its own plan 18 or more. You think yes that would make over a thousand hands would look as well yeah I think you know Magic better than you do. Now another impressive sight as we stand you're overlooking the mining area is those huge mounds of dirt from which to go has been removed. That's our useless sand and gravel isn't it. That's the waste that dump over there looks to be at least a mile square. What would you say as to its height 200. Well there are some I believe three would you like to me is one of the most impressive. It's about this city of Johannesburg with its workers. So I founded by a man me.

I suppose we could say There once was gold in them hills and yes you could say that the phones to us and other people about where how do they transport the same cast the cast off from oh I don't see any trucks here you know they go out to those big dams slimes dams you see by pipes the pipes that lead off the slime and deposit them on the walls of the dams It looks something like a pyramid and then they move the pipes in and as lines depart as it gets higher and higher they bring the wall nearer and nearer and it becomes that of that strong. There must be a good many thousands of acres in this area that are covered with nothing but slime. Yes this is the this is the golden The Golden bit got this round right now to return again to those times after the great solution containing the gold leaves. What happens next after it leaves those tanks they filter away the barren slime from the

gold which is now in solution. And then the goal is needed. You know know the solution. First of all is treated with zinc dust to precipitate the gold then that settles is a blank line. This next line which is very rich in gold is callsign acid treated and then subsequently at the very end it's melted and poured into. First of all buttons of gold and then those buttons are reheated and poured as bars of gold. What are the approximate dimensions of a bullion bar of bullion bar I suppose is about 10 and a half inches long by about three and a half to four inches deep and one bar is worth a good many thousands of dollars. Yes it's worth about twenty eight thousand dollars each bar and they say on the mines if you can lift it with one hand you can take it away with you. But you mustn't believe that twenty eight thousand dollars.

That's about the price of my farm. Why can I. How often are these go bars shipped out and the shipments take place as you would appreciate under security regulations. That's a topsy turvey when I want to mind why does the phrase when I noticed a very interesting display in front of the main office was a heap of gold bearing or weighing exactly a ton and on top of it was a piece of wire about three inches long and on the tip of this wire was a small piece of gold about the size of a pea or a kernel of corn. The amount of gold which is obtained from a whole ton of oh yes that's that so Mr. Westfall the average in the industry is to recover from about five tons of all you get an ounce of gold blooms of that just one ounce of gold from five tons of ore that's about the average of covering so many interesting facts about whom. When you do that we just can't begin to cover it all. Cool radio with one interesting story however we haven't even mentioned uranium which is extract them all with the goal that the uranium process is carried out as a second

rate process to go extraction. Actually think this is the only area in the world where coal mining or continue in that cell. And it's interesting to note that only a few years ago the uranium which was found in the gold ring. Was considered to be useless. Yeah the metallurgical nuisances they say I like that expression metallurgical loosens you know the same things through a cold war and the recent years of the Cold War which they found mixed with the or at the core we the company town was considered to be innocent and now its value is it turns out a couple. We could go on talking here for another hour without exhausting this fascinating study. But there is one other phase of the gold mining story which we must include a visit to one of the come to visit or rather to witness and event. Yes there they dance every weekend and they really enjoy themselves day and dance at home when they come down to the nines They love dancing and they continue to do that while they're there.

I'm sure it will be interesting. Say well I want to thank you mister but with all the time you've given me today you've been been dining with me on this tour with inverted and 80 miles from here from Johannesburg. The thought of him reminds of them was collaborating in helping me get this done and I'm very grateful Mr. WEST Well it's been a great pleasure to meet you and and I hope one day we'll meet again and the old ways and happy new baby. Very much so will be returning now to Johannesburg. Our program will be concluded on Sunday morning at the Consolidated main reef mine about 10 miles west of Johannesburg. Coming up. Every Sunday morning several hundred gold miner staged a demonstration of native dance. At one of the mining done by finance of this morning are being presented at the east compound of the Consolidated mind reader. The dancers you know

hear about 50 of them are colorfully dressed in leopardskin as an ostrich feathers and. They're wearing a kind of rubber boot as they go into their dance tonight slap their boots with their hand in a rhythmic beat. This has been programmed 22 of America's African heritage programs feature recordings made by a world traveler skip Westfall on a recent trip to Africa. The series is made possible by a grant and radio station WOIO Iowa State College from the Educational Television and Radio Center. Production is under the direction of Norman. This is speaking for the National Association of educational broadcasters.