Trifter

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Mining is a major industry in South Africa. This is also where the world’s deepest and largest working mine is located. That famous mine is called Tau Tona. The name literally means “great lion” in the local language which began its operation in 1962. Its main shaft is 3.6 km deep and consists of 800 km of tunneling. Its depth is equivalent to ten (10) Empire State Building.

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One of the world’s fastest elevators can also be found in Tau Tona. The mine has three elevators. The main elevator with height of almost 2 kilometers works at a rate of 15 meters/second. The fastest elevator recorded so far is that of Taipei 101 building in Taiwan which can travel up to 1,010 meters per minute or 16.83 meters/second.

Tau Tona supplies almost half of the world’s gold requirement – no wonder it is also called the city of gold. Gold production in the year 2007 was 12,714kg (409,000oz) while in 2006 it yielded 14,736kg (474,000oz) of gold.

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Tau Tona is located near Johannesburg, the provincial capital of South Africa’s wealthiest province. Sadly, this mine not only produces gold but it also recorded fatalities among its workers. Tau Tona employs more than 5,000 miners. Average of five miners die in accidents each year. The accident was mostly triggered by earthquakes hitting the area. In 2007, reported death was more than 20 employees.

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