Mponeng means 'look at me' in Sesotho and this AngloGold Ashanti mine about 10km from Carltonville, west of Johannesburg, is well worth a look. On 2nd of April 2009, Mponeng became the deepest mine in the world when it went deeper than nearby Tautona mine, a fellow AngloGold Ashanti mine.
The West Wits area, comprising Mponeng, Tautona and Savuka mines, is a significant part of the company's operations, together accounting for 39% of all group production.
In fairness, Tautona remains the mine that is extracting gold at the deepest level in the world. But Mponeng, which as of last week was excavating tunnels to a depth of 3860m below the surface, and has further to go, plans to start digging gold-bearing ore out of this new section of the mine as early as 2013 and says there is much further it could go. AngloGold Ashanti is currently testing the feasibility of going as low as 4500m, which would push the technological and human limits of what it is already doing. With no-one else digging as deep as this anywhere in the world, the company is working out how to do this as it goes along. There is no-one else to learn from.
On a cold Highveld winter's day, the temperature at 3.8km is well over 30 degrees Celsius. At a depth where the virgin rock can reach temperatures of 67 degrees Celsius, the ambient temperature would be much higher if not for the three ice plants the mine has, producing 120 tons of ice an hour to pour into the mine and cool the temperatures down. What makes a visit to the bottom of Mponeng stranger is the fact that, despite its remoteness from the surface, the mine is a noisy, busy scene of work, with earthmovers, loading equipment and heavy drilling rigs all fast at work. Water seeping from the rock makes mud on the floor and gives an unexpected humidity. Water sprays from drills, specking glasses and camera lenses.
A visit begins, however, with changing of clothes. Overalls, boots, helmet, light and Rescue Pack - an emergency breathing pack that gives 30 minutes of oxygen - are all standard. Then it's down, via staggered elevator rides. The first is from ground to 83 level -- each level marks 100 feet - and the second is from 83 level down to 120 level. The ride down is a dark whirring of pumps, beeping of warning sirens, and slamming of doors.
120 level, a warm cave already littered with railway tracks, cars and heavy equipment, is the headquarters. In a small brick room, project boss Gert Jacobs describes the digging going on, to excavate what will be four separate tunnels reaching down to 126 level.
A 2,5km ride in 4 wheel drives takes us down. We reach the site, where a drilling machine with two arms is creating holes into which explosives will be placed. It's a slow task. Each blast takes the miners 3 metres further into the rock. At a gradient of 14 to 2, it is a gradual move underground. Step by step, blow by blow.