19 - 21 September 2011
One Day Technical Visits
Three optional full-day post-conference tours are offered on Thursday, 22 September, the day following the conference. The cost per person includes bus transport, guided tours and lunch. Please indicate your interest on the Pembury Tours Reservation Form.
Gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand goldfields in the late 1800s and today Johannesburg is the commercial, industrial and mining capital of South Africa. In fact, both in South Africa and world-wide, Johannesburg/Egoli is seen as the “City of Gold”. Gold Reef City is a restored mining village built around the original No. 14 shaft of Crown Mines and is now an open-air museum depicting life in Victorian Johannesburg. You are led through the village by a tour guide, who will not only explain the significance of gold to the South African economy, but will bring to life the remarkable characters who played a role in the story of the world’s greatest gold discovery. You will travel 220 metres underground down a mine shaft to see gold being mined and will then watch a real-life gold pour. Gold Reef City also contains one of South Africa’s top amusement parks with many hair-raising rides.
Rate: R 650 per person
The Cradle of Humankind and Sterkfontein Caves
The Cradle of Humankind is about 45 kilometres north-west of Johannesburg. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999 because of the area's incomparable contribution to our understanding of the origins and development of humankind over more than 4-million years. The world famous Sterkfontein Caves are home to the most prolific evidence of human origins and offer a cave tour which tells the story of hominin evolution. The Sterkfontein Caves are the most famous of the 13 excavated fossil sites in the Cradle of Humankind. During the late 19th and 20th century, caves in the area were mined for lime, unearthing fossils which attracted the interest of scientists. In 1947 Dr. Robert Broom extracted a well preserved fossils skull, “Mrs. Ples”, estimated to be around 2.3 million years old. More recently, in 1997, Professor Ron Clarke discovered “Little Foot”, an almost complete hominin skeleton aged at about 3.5 million years. Professor Clark describes the discovery of “Little Foot” as amongst the most significant palaeoanthropological finds ever made. Today Sterkfontein is recognised as the most longstanding continuous palaeoanthropological dig in the whole world. The interpretive and informative Sterkfontein Visitor Centre leads to a walkway from which excavations can be viewed, as well as a working laboratory where you may observe scientists examining fossil finds. It is also possible to take in a guided tour of the caves themselves, which descend 60 metres below the ground. The tour also visits the Maropeng visitor facility. Here the focal point is the Tumulus building, designed to look like an ancient burial mound. Inside the Tumulus, the voyage of discovery begins with a journey going back four billion years in time to the formation of our planet. The visitor is then taken on a multisensory boat road on an underground lake, experiencing the elements of water, air, fire and earth coming together in the formation of our planet. At the end of the boat tour, the visitor can explore various interactive exhibits depicting topics such as the Birth of the Cradle, the Path to Humanity and What it Means to be Human.
Rate: R 650 per person
The small mining village of Cullinan, located east of Pretoria, gained world-wide attention with the discovery on June 25 1905 of an incredible 3108 carat stone, dubbed the Cullinan Diamond - the largest uncut diamond ever found. Over the years more than 120 million carats have been mined. Other notable gemstones unearthed from the Cullinan Mines include the 755 carat Golden Jubilee, the 600 carat Centenary, and the 530 carat Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, both cut from the Cullinan diamond itself. The mine is still fully operational today produces 25% of the entire world's production of gem quality diamonds. The Cullinan Diamond Mine tour covers the history of the mine, mining methods and the geological processes that are responsible for the creation of diamonds. The tour demonstrates how diamonds are extracted from the ground and you will visit the 32 hectare big hole, an operational mine shaft and the hoist room. Visitors can view the polishing and delicate cutting operations done by master diamond cutters, which shape the diamonds into the jewelry you can buy around the world. You can also view replicas of the world famous diamonds found at Cullinan.
Rate: R 650 per person