Odendaalsrus, is the oldest gold mining town in the Free State. When gold was found in 1946, Odendaalsrus earned its place on the map, attracting a number of settlers who wanted to be a part of the Gold Rush. This is where the richest Gold Reef in the World, was discovered. There are a number of gold mines in and around Odendaalsrus, including Harmony’s Tshepong and Phakisa (renamed Tshepong South) mines. (www.harmony.co.za/operations/south-africa/underground/doornkop/)
Tshepong North is a mature deep-level underground mining operation using conventional undercut mining in the Basal Reef while the B Reef is exploited as a high-grade secondary reef. Tshepong South exploits the Basal reef too, with the B Reef mined as a high-grade secondary reef as well and uses the conventional undercut and opencut mining method. Mining is conducted at depths of 1 500m to 2 300m. Phakisa mine came into production in FY08. Rock from Tshepong North and South is transported via a railveyor system to Nyala shaft, where it is hoisted to surface. Ore mined at these operations is processed at the Harmony One plant, with gold recovered using the gold cyanide leaching process. (https://www.harmony.co.za/)
