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Did You Know?

The Struben Mine Shafts at Kloofendal, near Roodepoort in Gauteng, are among the earliest gold mining sites on the Witwatersrand. Fred and Harry Struben, brothers who had prospected in the area since the early 1880s, discovered the gold-bearing reef here in 1884 and formally registered the Confidence Reef claims in 1886. This was before the main Witwatersrand gold rush, which began later in 1886 after the discovery of the Main Reef further east. The Strubens' mine operated on a small scale, with crushing equipment and a stamp battery, but the reef proved to be of limited economic value compared to the vast gold deposits found elsewhere on the Rand. The site is historically significant because it demonstrated that gold existed in the region, helping to attract further prospecting and investment. The shafts and associated ruins, including parts of the old battery and engine house, are preserved within the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, which was proclaimed a heritage site in the late 20th century. The area around Kloofendal was originally part of a farm called Roodepoort, and the Struben brothers' activities predate the formal establishment of the town of Roodepoort in 1904. Today, the site serves as a tangible reminder of the pioneering phase of gold mining on the Witwatersrand, before the industrial-scale operations that transformed the region.

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