What happened
Ernest Oppenheimer founded Anglo American in 1917, with funding from the United States and the UK. In 1926 it became the largest single shareholder in De Beers, and Oppenheimer became De Beers chairman in 1929.1,2
Why it matters
Anglo American grew into a major diversified miner and was central to De Beers for almost a century.1,2
Story cards
Around the same time
- Cyanide process for gold developed in Scotland
USGS says heap leaching with cyanide was proposed in 1969 as a way to treat low-grade ores.3,4,5
- Cripple Creek gold rush
Cripple Creek was the last great Colorado gold camp and its mine is still the state's only large gold mine.6,7
- Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid.8
- Ashanti Goldfields listed and Obuasi opened
It marks the start of Ashanti Goldfields' operations at Obuasi.9,10
- Nome gold rush
The NPS describes the Nome strikes as the end of the American gold rush trail.11,12
- Goldfields Water Supply Scheme opens
It let the dry goldfields grow after the 1890s rush.13,14,15
- Rand Rebellion begins
An uprising on the Witwatersrand began on 28 December 1921 and ran into 1922 (dates from Wikidata).16,17
- Bretton Woods conference
Bretton Woods conference.18
Where next
Sources
- 100 years of Anglo American
- Johannesburg (item Q34647), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Cyanide hazards to plants and animals from gold mining and related water issues (publication page) US Geological Survey
- Johannesburg Timeline 1800-1991 South African History Online
- Scotland (item Q22), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Cripple Creek Colorado Encyclopedia
- Cripple Creek (item Q117605), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Wikidata item Q916340 (Jameson Raid)
- Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited Encyclopedia of Company Histories (Reference for Business)
- Obuasi (item Q1020901), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Cape Nome Mining District Discovery Sites National Historic Landmark US National Park Service
- Nome Gold Rush (item Q7048516), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Building a Pipeline (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
- CY O'Connor's Golden Pipeline celebrates 120 years of service (media statement, 24 Jan 2023) Government of Western Australia
- Mundaring Weir (item Q1800878), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
- Wikidata item Q3070782 (Rand Rebellion)
- Wikidata item Q34647 (Johannesburg)
- Wikidata item Q188532 (Bretton Woods conference)
- Wikidata item Q31908708 (Crown Mines) Wikidata (CC0)
- Wikidata item Q137925092 (East Rand Proprietary Mines) Wikidata (CC0)
- Wikidata item Q3437185 (Robinson Deep Mine) Wikidata (CC0)
From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.
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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Pangkalpinang. Mijn 3b. Een reeks koelies bezig met het transporteeren van grond, Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Kimberley, South Africa: miners and washing gear at the Bultfontein diamond mine. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0).