Most people think of mining as digging a hole and pulling something shiny out of the ground. But this place didn’t go down a bit; Instead, it descends far below the Earth’s surface, a journey alone that takes about an hour. In this mine, the rock walls are naturally hot enough to be dangerous, ice is pumped into the ground just so people can breathe comfortably, and thousands of workers disappear below the surface every day. This is South Africa’s Mboneng gold mine, probably one of the most stressful workplaces on the planet.
How deep is the world deepest gold mine Mboneng is really gone
The Mponeng gold mine extends approximately 2.5 miles below the surface. A straight descent of about 4 kilometers. To put it in perspective, it’s roughly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Every morning, nearly 4,000 miners go underground. They pile into large elevators that can carry up to 120 people. The first downhill alone is over 1.6 miles downhill. At its top speed, the elevator reportedly travels about half a mile per minute. After that, there is another elevator and then walk or drive. When workers reach the lowest levels, they are closer to the center of the earth than most.
Inside the underground heat of Mponeng gold mine
As you get deeper into the earth, things heat up. In theory everyone knows it. But in Mponeng’s deepest tunnels, temperatures can reach around 140 degrees Fahrenheit. So engineers must pump ice in from the surface and mix it with salt into a thick slurry mixture. Fans then blow air through it, cooling the tunnel and creating what feels like an underground artificial weather system. Even so, the temperature remained around 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mponeng Gold Mine is located in the gold heartland of South Africa
The Mponeng gold mine is located in the Gauteng province of South Africa, within the Witwatersrand Basin, a geological formation that has shaped the history of gold around the world. The area is believed to contain the largest gold reserves ever discovered. Nearly half of the gold mined by humans reportedly comes from this region. The discovery of gold here led directly to the founding of Johannesburg and the massive gold rush that changed South Africa forever.
How much gold was produced in Mponeng
Every day, approximately 6,000 tons of rock are extracted from the mines. The gold must then be extracted through processing. In 2022, Mponeng reportedly produced nearly 200,000 ounces of gold. Current estimates suggest the mine will remain active until around 2029, assuming profitability.
