AMCU "demands urgent accountability and government intervention to prevent further loss of life" Already have an account? Sign in here Mining Magazine provides comprehensive technical insight into mining operations It aims to inform and support mine management in decision-making regarding mining techniques each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team MMI Future Fleets Report 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions Exclusive research for Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation and Digitalisation Report 2024 shows mining companies are embracing cutting-edge tech The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates Aspermont Media is a company registered in England and Wales Five people were killed in incidents at two of Harmony Gold’s South African mines Three employees died on Tuesday after a collapse at the Joel mine in the Free State province about 290 km (180 miles) southwest of Johannesburg Two other employees died in another incident on Tuesday morning at the Doornkop mine said the causes of the two incidents were being investigated South Africa’s mining industry reported 42 deaths last year, the lowest number to date and a 24% improvement on the previous year, according to official statistics released last month the bodies of 78 miners were pulled from an illegal gold mine after a heavily-criticized police operation lasting several months that tried to force them to the surface and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Gruyere gold mine joint venture partners Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources reach agreement on a friendly deal to consolidate ownership. The initiative will be delivered through the regional joint venture established by Fleet Space Technologies and Tahreez. The US central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady in this meeting. Romania has major reserves of rare earths, gold and copper, which have attracted interest from Canadian and American firms. Fatalities happened in two separate incidents on Tuesday Looking for the industry's top publication for ASX-listed mining activities and market trends MiningNews.net gives you instant access to breaking news brought to you by the Mining News Intelligence team The MNN Research Report 2025 provides insights into critical mining themes in Australia/Oceania priorities and preferences of 130+ mining investors and top factors influencing investment decisions in 2025 A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 117 jurisdictions globally assessed across six risk categories and an industrywide survey The Mining Company ESG Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies Motorists travelling on the N11 towards Loskop Dam should be aware that SAPS is searching for multiple suspects near Doornkop This follows the owner of a stolen truck and trailers tracking the vehicle to Doornkop where the suspects were seen offloading it According to Middelburg Observer it is unclear when and where the truck was stolen but the driver was injured and remains in hospital The case was reported to Vosman police on Monday rushed to the scene where the suspects had parked the truck A video posted on Traffic Alert shows men offloading the trailers The remaining suspects are armed and dangerous Drones have been requested to aid the search and more suspects may be hiding in the bushes The scene is near the filling station next to Doornkop ♬ original sound – MiddelburgObserver Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal Read original story on www.citizen.co.za Monday - Friday 9am-12pm / 2pm-6pm GMT + 1 All financial news and data tailored to specific country editions Another shack fire has claimed a man’s life in Doornkop, Soweto in the early hours of Tuesday morning City of Johannesburg emergency management services (EMS) responded to a report about the blaze at about 3am EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said upon arrival on the scene the crew conducted a search and rescue operation which led to the discovery of a charred body The body was identified as that of a 26-year-old man “He succumbed to smoke inhalation and was confirmed dead on the scene,” said Mulaudzi “No other injuries were reported during this fire incident and the cause of the fire incident is still a subject of an investigation.” the EMS has recorded a rising number of fire incidents which have led to loss of lives two separate fire incidents were reported in George Goch and Kaya Sands in Johannesburg Mulaudzi encouraged residents to continue to look after all heating devices while in use and not to leave them unattended “As part of our efforts to reduce fire incidents and fatalities the City of Johannesburg EMS public education unit will be conducting a door-to-door campaign at informal settlements.” Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa Tel: +27 11 268 6300 Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms & conditions and privacy policy Intended to bring to account around three million ounces of gold during the mine's anticipated 11-year lifetime the Doornkop South Reef project involves deepening the mine's main shaft by a little over 670m to an eventual final level of 1,973m below collar South of Krugersdorp on the north-west rim of the Witwatersrand Basin broken into a number of large blocks by a series of faults; friable and carbonaceous Harmony/African Vanguard Resources joint venture (74:26) Intended to bring to account around three million ounces of gold during the mine’s anticipated 11-year lifetime the Doornkop South Reef project involves deepening the mine’s main shaft by a little over 670m to an eventual final level of 1,973m below collar The Doornkop Shaft complex is located south of Krugersdorp on the north-west rim of the Witwatersrand Basin and lies between the Cooke 1 Shaft and Durban Roodepoort Deep Mines The estimated in-situ proven and probable reserves are 3.2Mt graded at 5.33g/t as of 2011 indicated and inferred resources totalled23.1Mt graded at 8.25g/t A joint venture between Harmony and African Vanguard Resources (AVR) has been established to manage the project with AVR gaining a 16% share of the profits in exchange for contributing their 26% share of the mineral rights to the joint venture Harmony acquired the 26% share from AVR for R398 million lying between 1,650m and 2,000m below surface 900m below the Kimberley Reef and inclined downwards by 10 degrees to the south-east Bounded to the north-west by the Roodepoort Fault the reef plane itself is divided into large blocks by the series of faults associated with the Witpoortjie Horst with further structural breaks being formed by a number of other local faults The Doornkop Fault runs to the southern end of the project area the reef plane itself is relatively uncomplicated and although the ‘Black Duck Dyke’ – a prominent water-carrying intrusive – cuts across the site previous mining activities have managed to overcome it successfully Around 70% of the gold mineralisation is in the form of free gold Exploration of the Doornkop area began in the early 1930s with investigations revealing economic concentrations of gold in the South Reef The sinking of the Doornkop main shaft and the ventilation shaft started in 1983 – the initial intention being to mine both the South Reef and the Kimberley Reef – but later put on hold when it was subsequently decided to concentrate on the shallower Kimberley Reef with some prospect development being carried out – including some 450m of on-reef development – before stopping again for a year in 1995 Deepening of the main shaft recommenced in November 1996 and continued until May 1999 by which time the sub-vertical shaft sinking had been completed and the main shaft had reached 1,340m below ground When Harmony took control of Randfontein early in 2000 they acquired Doornkop and carried out a series of investigations on the South Reef confirming the presence of a central pay shoot indicating a robust project involving low technical risks and excellent returns Further exploration drilling at the reef will be carried out in 2010 to increase the rate of obtaining geological information on the orebody Drilling platforms are being developed besides the normal access development The design of the mine has been based around conventional mining methods proven technology and established blasting techniques to result in a tramming width of 130cm and an average stoping width of 120cm The shaft itself was sunk from two points simultaneously – said to be a world first – and culminated in the removal of the plug between the 192 and 197 levels This required a deflector to be set up on 197 level to allow for loading of the rock level while work continued below in the shaft at 212 level the project also calls for four new working levels and associated infrastructure to be put in place to allow the South Reef to be successfully exploited a second winder was commissioned in the sub-shaft which has allowed the extensive access development programme to be accelerated the dual-purpose winder compartment was equipped from 132 level to 192 level and commissioned in 2009 enhancing transport from surface to the levels and allowing the development to proceed on schedule the north and south winder compartments were installed to 212 level production on level 197 of the South Reef project commenced construction of the 212 level conveyor belt was also achieved The surface rock winder was commissioned and fully automated in 2011 The total project cost has been estimated at R1.1bn with almost R1bn of this budget having been accounted for to date South Reef produced 62,694oz in 2010 and 80,763oz in 2011 the NPV is R1,189m and the IRR exceeds 50% making the project financials very attractive Harmony initiated a project to install and replace the equipment in the plant for optimising gold recovery in the fourth quarter of 2010 The phase 1 of the project is scheduled to be completed by March 2012 Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network ​​The R66-million-rand Bophelong clinic in Doornkop is expected to inject new life into the Region C community following its official opening by the Executive Mayor Cllr Thapelo Amad.The primary healthcare facility will offer a full basket of high-quality healthcare services to an ever-increasing population of Region C which has been experiencing a growing demand for primary healthcare services. The Bophelong Clinic is a state-of-the-art facility with 18 consulting rooms and offers a full range of primary healthcare services such as family planning 08 January 2022: Eskom is implementing load reduction from 05:00 – 09:00 (tomorrow morning 09 January 2022) to avoid network overloading in high density areas Below is a list of some parts of affected areas: customers are urged to switch off all their electrical appliances to avoid possible damage due to power surges when supply returns.  Failure to do so may lead to transformer trips or failures and damages to household appliances when supply is restored.  Communities are encouraged to report meter bypasses illegal connections and vandalism of the electricity infrastructure on the Eskom Crime-Line number: 0800 11 27 22 © 2025 Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd Reg No 2002/015527/30 All rights reserved  |  Terms of use Leila Patel receives funding from the National Research Foundation for her Chair in Welfare and Social Development own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment University of Johannesburg provides support as an endorsing partner of The Conversation AFRICA View all partners Solutions to poverty and social exclusion tend to focus largely on national social and economic policies and the monitoring of national poverty indicators is the need for a perspective that privileges the knowledge aspirations and efforts of citizens and communities to improve their lives Innovative solutions that connect with people’s real life situations and that take the voices of the poor into account In-depth community based research conducted in Doornkop, Soweto, over a decade by researchers from the Centre for Social Development Africa at the University of Johannesburg, has captured these voices. Doornkop is one of the ten poorest wards in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city most of whom live in extreme poverty and in stressed circumstances The research is published in a newly released book that we co-edited It provides a vignette of the potential to “learn from below” It also provides insight into the lives of people who continue to struggle daily to build meaningful lives It prioritises their actual experiences of and responses to a range of social It also interrogates the effect that policies designed by the government at national level have on their lives Doornkop’s residents are motivated to lead better lives But they have to make difficult choices and trade-offs and have to work actively to achieve their goals household and community level can support agency build people’s capabilities and strengthen social networks But a range of barriers – structural as well as social – can undermine their best efforts These labels made them feel devalued and stigmatised This illustrates how gender beliefs and practices about parenting and care can reinforce gender inequality and compromise child well-being insufficient attention is paid to finding solutions to these challenges respondents also expressed strong support for the grants distributed by government Others said it empowers women by increasing their financial independence and decision-making power over how money is used The grants also have a positive effect on caregiving for children the interviews also showed that the child grant has some positive unintended consequences too they build social solidarity and a sense of a shared fate This in turn served to protect individuals and their families against risks and shocks such as a death in the family or the loss of a home and to build mutually beneficial social networks These are a vital source of social and economic support and then your community can be a right place This suggests that people who receive grants aren’t simply passive recipients of public benefits Stories from the ground also highlighted the unmet needs of people who are vulnerable and left behind A third of women in the sample were diagnosed with depression largely associated with the stress of having to cope with poverty treatment and social support is needed in poor communities like Doornkop unemployment and struggles to access post-secondary education and training as well as early motherhood placed young people at risk of long-term poverty there was also evidence of high levels of resilience Older women had very good ability to “bounce back” after experiencing adversity religious faith and participation in burial societies and stokvels mediated depression and built resilience The research shows that although social grants make an important contribution in reducing income poverty with positive multiplier effects other social interventions are needed to build human capabilities Gender beliefs about care contribute to inequality within and among families They call for a multidimensional approach to finding accessible community level solutions a strong link emerged from the research about the relationship between socio-economic factors and democracy participate actively in national and local elections and attend ward council meetings to improve their conditions more grant beneficiaries in Doornkop voted or planned to vote in two previous elections than non-beneficiaries and the exercise of their democratic rights were as important as the ability of a political party to satisfy their needs This suggests that poor performance in service delivery and social grants are likely to have significant electoral consequences for the incumbent party Johannesburg — Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) advises that an underground fire has broken out at the Doornkop gold mine Contact has been made with eight employees in a refuge bay; efforts continue to reach these employees and to establish the whereabouts of a further nine employees who are currently unaccounted for The fire was reported to have occurred in a stope adjacent to 192 level haulage (some 1 733 m underground) at around 18:00 on Tuesday Rescue teams were immediately dispatched underground but access to the affected area is being hampered by smoke and a subsequent fall of ground You have selected an article from the AllAfrica archive, which requires a subscription. You can subscribe by visiting our subscription page. Or for more information about becoming a subscriber, you can read our subscription and contribution overview You can also freely access - without a subscription - hundreds of today's top Africa stories and thousands of recent news articles from our home page » AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals representing a diversity of positions on every topic We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you There was a problem processing your submission More than three years after a previous Public Works Minister said the sad state of two military bases in Gauteng would receive urgent attention it appears not much has changed This is the conclusion that can be drawn following a visit to the Doornkop and Lenz military bases by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans home to the SA Army’s 21 Infantry Battalion Afrikaans daily Beeld reports the committee saw buildings in disrepair; a shortage of housing; a shortage of vehicles; squatters have moved in to some dilapidated buildings; and poor discipline indicates a lack of access control and illegal occupation of SA National Defence Force (SANDF) facilities shows just how easily security can be breached The committee’s report will also detail how the poor overall condition of both bases “vehicles that are falling apart” and a shortage of personnel are impacting on not only the image of both bases but also on soldiers’ morale and professionalism DA shadow defence and military veterans minister said after the visit the Lenz base resembled the Somali capital then Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde visited both bases and the Wonderboom military base north of Pretoria to see for herself what facilities and conditions were like In a statement issued after that visit she said: “A contractor has been given the go ahead and placed on site to deliver on the promise the Minister made to the military” The “promise” was to the SANDF she called “an important This week’s visit by Portfolio Committee members tends to show that no real progress has been made especially as far as physical structures are concerned and again brings to the fore a point made by current SANDF Chief He spearheaded the re-establishment of the Army’s Work Regiment so that at least some maintenance and refurbishment of military facilities could be done in-house The regiment has subsequently grown into a Works Formation another indicator the military wants to be master of its own fate when it comes to facilities maintenance Photo showing the conditon of an ablution block at Doornkop military base from the defenceWeb library Editorial Enquiries: [email protected] Sales Enquiries: [email protected] The Department of Public Works (DPW) has completed the first phase of the upgrade of the notorious Doornkop military base in the south of Johannesburg and this morning officially handed over the improved facilities to the South African Army The formerly dilapidated base has been home to 21 SA Infantry Battalion since 2008 Then-Minister of Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde in December last year visited a number of military bases and said contractors who do shoddy work will be blacklisted at the National Treasury the Department of Public Works (DPW) is the title-deed owner of fixed state property the defence force is not allowed to repair A further complication is that the DPW expects its tenants to budget for such repairs maintenance and upgrades; which generally they do not leading to a steady deterioration of facilities the unit is also today celebrating its 35th birthday In 1973 the apartheid government decided to reserve a long-held policy against training black soldiers led by Major MW Pretorius were sent to the then-Bantu Training College at Baviaanspoort the first 16 volunteers were recruited and trained as security guards A second group of 30 were recruited in August and trained as instructors authority was given for blacks to attest in the then-Permanent Force the Bantu Training Centre became a self-accounting unit and moved to Lenz The centre was then renamed 21 Battalion on the 21st birthday of the SA Infantry Corps (January 22 the first recruits of what would become 1 Transkei Battalion (now 14 SAI Bn) and 1 Ovambo Battalion received training By 1977 the government had overcome various difficulties and in May began training a company of infantry “As a result of the operational success achieved by this company in the Caprivi authority was granted in 1978 for a second operational company to be trained,” an undated unit history sheet notes the first recruits of the Venda Defence Force began training In 1979 the unit gained its first black chaplain Its first task was to train the first recruits of the KwaNdebele Defence Force (the later 115 Bn) In July 1986 two more operational companies were established A decade after the apartheid government had decided to arm blacks – something that was ideologically inconceivable to the National Party of 1948 21 Bn became an operational infantry battalion An infantry company was posted to the then-Northern Transvaal Command as part of a reaction force A further three companies were recruited and trained in the same year four companies were deployed to northern Namibia and two of these deployed into southern Angola In 1989 the SA Defence Force appointed its first black honorary colonel – Mr Justice Tshungu – for 21 Bn the unit became 21 SAI Bn and in June 1997 the officer commanding became a full colonel with two operational battalions In September 1999 this structure was abolished and the unit reverted to a four company infantry battalion with a reconnaissance platoon The battalion recently returned from a very successful border security deployment in the Komatipoort area and the Kruger Park Pic: An ablusion block at Doornkop as pictured in September 2008 Editorial Enquiries: [email protected] Sales Enquiries: [email protected] Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries Having made some exceptionally high readings of radioactivity in communities near mine tailings/slimes waste in the areas researched the study notes that children swim freely in unfenced evaporation ponds below talings dams radioactive water seeps into houses built in the floodplains of rivers and houses built in the 500m exclusion zones of mine dumps are exposed to the radioactive mine dust blowing off the dumps researchers found high concentrations of children with physical and mental deformities in some of these areas and point to a 2009 study linking high levels of uranium with birth abnormalities The Bench Marks Foundation study suggests that the gold mining industry have a complete disregard for the dangers of mine waste facilities to residents of Soweto and other mine-impacted areas The research notes that there is a close association between uranium and gold mining in South Africa the implications of which became apparent during the Second World War and the race to build the first atom bomb South Africa became a major supplier of very cheap uranium Uranium from South Africa had a competitive edge in that it was a by product of established gold mining production and required no new investment in the start-up of mines An abundance of uranium was also already present in the mountains of yellow waste (tailings) all over the southern parts of Johannesburg.” are the health impacts of radiation on communities near mines • Unfenced and unsecured mine waste facilities particularly slimes/tailings accessible to the unknowing public;• Informal settlers residing on abandoned mine sites;• Stripping of radioactive materials from abandoned mine sites and uranium processing plants which are sold to scrap metal dealers;• Use of tailings sand as a building mix for concrete and plaster to build houses;• Inhaling and ingestion of dust blown from slimes/tailings dams;• Runoff of mine water from tailings dams or seepage into groundwater;• Absorption of radioactive substances from the soil by plants including fruit and vegetables which are then consumed as food and incorporated into the body;• Infiltration of radon gas is the second largest cause of lung cancer after smoking The research includes two instances – one in Meadowlands in January 2017 and the other in Doornkop in November 2016 – in which exceptionally high readings of radioactivity were found in communities in close proximity to mine waste in these areas It also reports on the high occurrence of children in the Doornkop area with physical and mental challenges in 2009 which found high levels of uranium toxicity of urine samples of children with birth abnormalities including physical deformities and neurological and mental disorders Bench Marks is critical of a study done by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in 2003 on levels of radioactivity in the water in the Klip River catchment which found that “two of the sites showed marginal radioactivity status for infants… At both sites care should be taken that the water is not used by infants under one year of age” the water referred to would be harmful to an unborn foetus should pregnant mothers consume it: “The health effects of radiation on the foetus can be severe even at radiation doses too low to make the mother sick.” • did not measure the water in the tailings evaporation ponds; • did not measure the water at spill points where tailings water flows directly into the Booysens Spruit • did not note that children from near tailings communities swim in this water; • does not mention that there are some communities who prior to being linked to the Rand Water grid possibly consumed water directly from tailings facilities along the edge of Soweto; • failed to look at seepage into RDP houses built in stream flood plains or the artificial wetlands that result from tailings ground water plumes; and • confused the Russel stream with Booysens Spruit Russel stream goes nowhere near New Canada Road Choose a topic below and thereafter view all articles on the topic using the "Next >" button or swiping left Choose a topic below and thereafter view all articles on the topic using the "Next >" button or the keyboard right arrow key Emergency workers rescued eight other workers Wednesday but will be under medical observation as a precaution '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" a 110 years ago,cannons boomed within what is now the city limits of Johannesburg machine guns and grenade launchers would join in as battle commenced South African Republic (“ZAR”) troops under Commandant General Louis Botha were seeking to repel an advance-to-contact by British Colonel TC Porter’s 1st Cavalry Brigade in the Gatsrand The Inniskilling Dragoons proved too weak to force the ZAR position that lay east-west on some hills across what is now the Golden Highway The 4th Cavalry Brigade came up and its 7th Dragoon Guard renewed the attack In the hills was teenaged Deneys Reitz – who later founded the lawfirm that still bears his name He writes: “At four o’clock the advance was on us again Armstrong guns were unlimbered and we were severely treated and despite casualties we stood our ground until dark by which time word came through that we must fall back to the Klip River.” author of the “Man from Snowy River” was there too He described the assault as “one of the most dashing things of the whole war” was however a holding action to allow Botha to muster more commandos and better prepare the Klip River valley for defence deployed into the hills north of the river and west of the Klipriviersberg massif It was fortunate for the British that the ZAR made haste slowly on preparing their defences along the Klip River Public works labourers were meant to dig trenches and put in place wire obstacles Some 2000 mining posts and a considerable amount of barbed wire was ordered for the purpose Little had been done by the time battle came but the stage was set for the Western Front in France and Belgium some 14 years later the Vanwyksrust fort and prison – built on the south bank of the river by 1898 – was not defended During the night Vecht (Combat) General “Koos” de la Rey arrived from Potchefstroom with about 1000 men They were deployed on the ridge north of the Klip River and west of the Klip Spruit bringing Botha’s force strength up to about 3500 securing the fort and the nearby concrete bridge across the Klip Next he pushes the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Mounted Infantry battalion across The ridges and hills provide excellent fields of fire and observation It also provided cover and concealment for them and their horses In the largely treeless and grassy valley before them they could clearly observe the British moving down the Gatsrand The extensive vlei country channelled the invader and once across the attacker still had to cross the glacis to close with the defenders “At dawn next day [the 28th] from the hilltops we looked down on the fertile green valleys and beyond it rose a long line of hills running across our front” on which “for miles an d miles there ran a vista of huge mine buildings – great chimneys towering in the air We were actually looking on the famous Rand goldfields of Johannesburg,” Paterson enthused in his dispatch to his Australian readers “We were now practically backed right up against the city so close that sightseers and even women came out in cabs and on foot to the view the proceedings and soon after dawn [on the 28th] the English came pouring over the ground to the south of the Klip River with horse In addition to the position’s natural strength Captain P von Dalwig of the Staatsartillerie distributed his seven guns along a front about seven or eight miles east of Doornkop Reitz later wrote “the British troops were by now crossing the Klip River in large numbers deploying on the open ground [before] us and before long shelling had commenced No doubt they knew by now Johannesburg was theirs for the taking confining themselves to most unpleasant gunfire For the first time for many days we too had guns in action and there were several batteries … blazing away from close by “suffered terribly and I counted seven artillerists killed in less than fifteen minutes during one particularly violent burst We of the ACC were snugly tucked away in a kopje where the shelter was so good we did not lose a man or a horse and we passed most of the day idly watching the scene.” So was Paterson: “… we went streaming down the hill to the Klip River and across it without opposition There was a huge hill called the Klipriviersberg and when we crossed the river this hill was between us and the Rand We all decided it would be a fine position to hold but the Boers wouldn’t try to hold it “They’re thoroughly demoralised; all just on the run,’ was the universal comment But just then from the foot of a hill came the roar of a big gun and a 40-pound shell came bumping into some loose ground just near by so then we knew that the Boers were going to make one last fight for the Rand and we were all excitement to see how French would handle it.” The burghers waited for the British to close with their position in the hills and then opened an enfilade rifle and artillery fire The troops – appropriately – attacked into the fire to clear the hills supported by horse artillery and “pom-pom” AGLs and Maxim rifle-calibre machine guns This fire was reportedly ineffective and could silence neither the Staatsartillerie nor the burghers with the Canadian Mounted Rifles in support seized a low ridge just north of the bridge in temperatures that fell below freezing after dark sent the 5th and 7th corps (battalions) of MI under Lt Col Henry Pilkington forward to Jackson’s Drift – where the R82 crosses the Klip – to guard that crossing and protect French’s immediate right flank from attack French next sent the 4th Cavalry Brigade further to the left but they only found “more guns and more rifle fire,” Paterson wrote The Boer position was “far more extended than was at first surmised,” said St Leger “…in the long run we all had to withdraw from the hills and cross the river to get to a safe camp for the night” “First came the transport wagons and led ponies hastily beating a retreat,” wrote St Leger “A disconcerting picture now presented itself as shell after shell fell among the wagons Close on their heels came the rearmost squadrons of the cavalry followed by the remainder with their guns hidden at times by the clouds of earth and sand thrown up by the plunging shells from the Boer long-rangers from the spiteful little pom-pom one pounders to the heavy projectiles of the high-velocity Krupp guns … It was preparatory to this outburst that we on the right had been comparatively left in peace This also accounted for the assured confidence of the Boers on the ridge facing us.” The withdrawal was supported by the “rapid drumming of the Vickers-Maxims,” Winston Churchill,who was with Hamilton St Leger’s company stays in place until about midnight It was 29 May and time for “Plan B” In the morning French set out with the 1st and 4th Cavalry Brigades from Vanwyksrust along the southern bank of the Klip River through today’s Lenasia – to the Potchefstroom Road drift taken the previous day by Lt Col TD Pilcher’s battalion-sized 3rd MI Corps (The drift is still to be seen where the N12 crosses the Klip River His intent is to make a further attempt to pierce the Boer position in front of the Witwatersrand this time by an attack on the ridge between he Klip River and Klipspruit now home to the Soweto suburbs of Chiawelo and Senaoane riding with the 1st Cavalry wrote “the cavalry went more to the west than before right away round about seven miles (11km) west of Johannesburg – so far west in fact that they were nearing the place Jameson came in and he had advanced from the northwest,” this a reference to Leander Star Jameson the confidant of Cecil John Rhodes and the Simon Mann of his day bent on overthrowing Kruger’s government now just outside Dobsonville on Adcock Road Continued Paterson: “We didn’t know whether it was a good or bad omen that we were being forced to follow in Jameson’s footsteps We knew the Boers were quite as numerous as we were and it looked as if a disaster might be in store.” “but the Boers put a big gun to work on that hill and made it fly in the air in lumps Two Canadian units and the 1st MI remained temporarily behind at Vanwyksrust to draw burgher fire and deflect the enemy’s attention from the flanking manoeuvre taking place south of the river After being withdrawn just before midnight St Leger’s company was recommitted after “a hasty breakfast and under cover of the mist.” He records pushing forward “through the smouldering veldt set alight by the shelling of the day before.” Churchill added that the day started early for the MI being at one time enfiladed by two Maxim-Vickers and heavily pressed in front.” It was a “particularly uncomfortable position – at the end of a wedge as it were shoved in between the re-entrant angle of the Boer position The kopje we were holding could be raked by shell fire from commanding heights on right left and centre,” St Leger later wrote Hamilton’s main force entered the Klip River valley during the morning Around 1pm he was at the Potchefstroom Road drift and met French who had earlier sent the 1st and 4th Cavalry across to seize two kopjes between the Potchefstroom Road and the main ridge Porter (1st Cavalry) without difficulty and Dickson (4th Cavalry) after a fight in which the 7th Dragoons and 14th Hussars distinguished themselves,” recorded The Times history,edited by Leo Amery But neither of them was able to advance further against Von Dalwig’s superior artillery fire At the meeting the two decided Hamilton would attack the Boer position frontally while French would flank around Doornkop proper to appear in the Boer rear Amery notes French wanted to avoid Doornkop proper as well as the Senaoane-Chiawelo ridge feature and flank round to appear in the Boer rear with writer Thomas Pakenham being especially critical if French was to succeed with his envelopment That would be the task of Hamilton’s infantry Hamilton later gave three reasons for risking a frontal attack he had thought that the enemy’s line was weak because it was so extended; second must march by the direct road to Florida; third that he was afraid of dividing his main force from the men guarding the hills [the Gatsrand] behind him” Amery adds that the thought of turning the tables on the Boers at the same spot as Jameson’s surrender appealed to him as an additional reason Young Churchill now shares his lunch with Hamilton and his ADC He notes: “I watched the General closely He knew better than the sanguine people who declared the Boers had run away already No one understood better than he what a terrible foe is the rock-sheltered Mauser-armed Dutchman In spite of its cavalry turning movement and other embellishments the impending attack must be practically frontal.” As far as can be determined they picnicked on a small koppie the N12 today cuts through on the edge of Avalon cemetery While they lunched his two infantry brigades were occupying the kopjes vacated by Porter and Dickson Major General Bruce Hamilton’s 21st Brigade on the left with the 76th battery with its 76mm 15-pounder guns and the 19th Marshall’s Horse and the 82nd battery The 81st battery and two 5-inch (127mm) guns were behind the 19th Brigade and to their right the 5th battalion MI were close to the Klipspruit as a flank guard Before Hamilton lay a valley some 2.5km wide and beyond that waited the burghers with their Mausers and guns The valley is now crowded with urban sprawl: a shopping centre facing the 21st Brigade is today crested by an open field still containing between Senaoane and Mapetla suburbs can be reached along Usutu and Bereng Streets that branch off Chris Hani Street,as Old Potch Road is now known The 19th Brigade’s objective is now Johannesburg Water’s Chiawelo depot the City Imperial Volunteers (CIV) leading the Derbyshires covering their left and rear and the Camerons in support advancing two-up with the Gordon Highlanders left and 2nd Battalion The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry followed in their wake “The Life of a Regiment” footnotes that the battalion strength this afternoon “was below 600” that day and “that of the seven units engaged was under 4000.” The attack should be preceded by an artillery preparation but by all accounts – except that of the Royal Artillery – the gunners were slow coming into action The British an Canadians nevertheless close with the ridge At first the extension between ranks is twenty or thirty paces; subsequently the men close to intervals of ten paces” “partly because the battalions tended to close in away from each other kept edging rather too far west in order to master fire from Doornkop [proper],” Amery adds Paterson continues: “The foot soldiers advanced into the hills each man about 10 yards from his neighbour As they got under fire they dropped in the grass and disappeared running forward a few yards and dropping again and we pushed at a hard trot for … Doornkop.” Describing the terrain Smith-Dorrien later noted several lines “of formidable looking rocky kopjes of no great height or steepness with all the grass burnt for 1000 to 1500 yards in front of the position thus rendering the khaki clothes of our advancing troops more conspicuous and here was the greatest Boer strength; behind it was a long narrow hollow which formed a perfect covered way for movement in reinforcement or in retreat” Breytenbach gives the moment a different turn He records the Gordons were disappointed to find the first position vacant as they were looking forward to working over with their bayonets the burghers that had fired at them in such volume (“…met hul bajonette te bewerk.”) When they dared (“waag”) to go forward the same burghers stopped them with heavy losses (“…met baie swaar verliese gestuit”) Amery in his focus on the Gordons and CIV says nothing further of the other units He avers that after being stopped the Gordons remained in opposition the commanders of the 19th Brigade not up for another charge (“…nie kans gesien nie.”) They were in position to bring flanking fire on the burghers opposing the Canadian attack and supported from the rear by the 82nd Field Battery The Sussex men came under fire when two companies tackled the west flank of the ridge the Gordons had stormed from the south The British “Official History” notes that in the fire a “mule and more than half the crew of the maxim gun which had accompanied them were laid low before a round was discharged.” The attackers resorted to short rushes: fire-and-movement; and reached the crest line around dusk Here they were confronted with the sight of mounted men hastily riding east from Doornkop Thinking this was French’s cavalry cutting off the Boer retreat this was the burghers abandoning Doornkop and the Senaoane-Mapetla ridge And the men were hungry – “no supplies and nothing to eat,” the Gordons’ historian notes On empty stomachs the battalion formed three sides of a square – generals staffs and other dignitaries forming the fourth – to see off fallen comrades The Reverend WS Jaffray conducted the battlefield service But Amery says “it is rather doubtful if this criticism has any grounds and if the Boers opposite the Gordons had not been kept so busy they would have had more leisure to enfilade the CIV and the Canadians.” Scout Corps commander Captain Daniel “Danie” Theron still had some fight left At 11pm he telegraphed Botha to send a thousand men to take up positions on the main reef at Roodepoort He believed there was no better position than that offered by the mines of Randfontein Here a determined stand could be made and Johannesburg be denied to the British And Field Marshal the Earl Frederick Roberts VC with the 7th and 11th infantry divisions,were by now camped at Germiston The news that the southern front – the Klip River line – had caved in was a major blow for Kruger who had received such upbeat news the day before He had just sent Botha a letter of encouragement to be read to the commandos in which he praised them for their brave fight for a just cause (“…manmoedig strijden voor ons rechtvaardige zaak.”) Burgher morale now totally collapsed despite the heavy punishments that could be inflicted on deserters: confiscation of property and even the death penalty Most burghers considered further resistance futile and the number available to defend Pretoria – less than 3000 – was so small no proper defence could be contemplated Many of the men were now also of dubious quality On the night of the 29th Kruger left Pretoria – and his wife – for the last time taking his capital to Machadodorp on the Delagoa Bay line British troops moved in on Johannesburg – while State Attorney Jan Smuts collects the mines’ gold Paterson recording: “He is a great man for display and his attaches up in an ordered procession and rode at the head of it on his beautiful bay horse… and about 10 000 men followed after There was great speech making and handing over of keys but there was nothing of the frenzied enthusiasm of Kimberley or even the Bloemfontein march.” Having taken the surrender Roberts “established his headquarters at Orange Grove a few miles out of Johannesburg” on the then-main road to Pretoria They spent the 31st washing and cleaning in Florida and on the 1st marched to Braamfontein “just outside Johannesburg” where they were at last placed on full rations Passes were given into the city “where tea and jam could be had for the paying.” Pic: The vandalised and dilapidated grave of Capt St John Meyrick and other British soldiers killed in the Battle of Johannesburg Editorial Enquiries: [email protected] Sales Enquiries: [email protected]