Portrait of Cyril Ramaphosa

People/labour leader

Cyril Ramaphosa

Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952), labour leader, from South Africa. Linked to gold, coal.

The lucky break

In December 1982 he became the first secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, formed after a CUSA resolution in August 1982.1,2

Legacy

Historic mining role only: founding secretary of the NUM. SAHO records him elected President of South Africa on 15 February 2018.1,2

Story cards

Where next

People

InspiredJ. B. MarksFrom the 1946 African Mine Workers Union to the 1982 National Union of Mineworkers.1,3

Sources

  1. Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa South African History Online
  2. File pages and licence metadata for portraits (via the Commons imageinfo/extmetadata API) Wikimedia Commons
  3. John Beaver JB Marks South African History Online

Pictures on this page: 21.11.2025 – Presidente da República da África do Sul, Cyril Ramaphosa (54938010569) (cropped).jpg, Ricardo Stuckert (CC BY 4.0).

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).