Blyvooruitzicht

Blyvooruitzicht (pronounced/bl'afoor aet siggt/) is a gold-mining village in Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated about 3.5km South of the centre of Carletonville and 80km westwards from Johannesburg.

History

The name of the village is of dutch origin meaning "keep looking to the future" or "remain positive". Established in 1937, Blyvooruitzicht village was built to house the workers of the Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine which was the first to mine on the gold of the West Wits line. Production started in 1942 and Blyvoor has been an operation of DRDGOLD since 1997.

In the late 60's and early 70's it boasted having the highest earnings per capita in the world. However taking into account that it was proclaimed at the height of the apartheid era, it is probable that these statistics did not factor in the "non white" worker's earnings.

inkholes

The area became notorious for its sinkholes and unstable ground conditions. This is as a result of a high proliferation of Dolomite rock formations which eroded with the lowering of the water table by extensive underground mining and its continuous pumping operations.

On the 3 August 1964 two houses and parts of two other disappeared down a sinkhole with a loss of 5 lives which included the Oosthuizen family and their maid. No trace was ever found of them, their house or their car. A Monument was erected on the hill overlooking the area where the Westdene suburb stood. The fitting inscription on the monument reads, "God himself laid them to rest".

An ancient Sinkhole south west of the village called the Hutgrot Cave was the shelter of the Batswana tribes during the Mzilikazi raids.

Population

Academic

training facilities.

port

Facilities

Golf Club

Places of interest

The Villagers

Blyvoor mine and village was the setting for a soap opera filmed in the 1970's called the "The Villagers".

Isidingo

The highest point in the village is a hill called "Isidingo", which is where the mine Manager's house was built. This is from where the current soap opera "Isidingo" derives its name.

Industrial

Mining Operations

Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mining Company Limited (Blyvoor), has underground and surface operations and is situated on the north-western edge of the Witwatersrand Basin. Established in 1937, it was the first mine on the West Wits line. Production started here in 1942 and Blyvoor has been an operation of DRDGOLD since 1997.

Blyvoor has two main gold-bearing horizons: the Carbon Leader Reef (CLR), which is one of the principal ore bodies of the Carletonville goldfield; and the Middelvlei Reef, which is some 75 metres above the CLR horizon. At present mining is concentrated on No 4 and No 6 shafts with some mining taking place from No 5 shaft.

Blyvoor also treats gold-bearing slimes dams and waste rock dumps. The mine’s carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant is currently processing some 300 000 tonnes of slimes per month.

Blyvoor, which has plant capacity of around 400 000 tonnes a month, produces some 166 000 ounces of gold per year. The mine employs 4 520 people including contractors.

Entertainment

Other links

External links

* [http://www.golftoday.co.uk/clubhouse/coursedir/world/south_africa/mmabatho/blyvooruitzicht.html Blyvooruitzicht Golf Club]
* [http://www.drd.co.za/bus/ops_sa_bl.asp Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mining Company Limited (Blyvoor)]