Erfdeel farm in Orange Free State becomes SA's richest gold deposit
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On 3 June 1954, a mining engineer at the Erfdeel farm in the Orange Free State pulled up a drill-core laden with ore from nearly 6,000-feet. The Essayists revealed that, based on the test, the gold ore under Erfdeel farm might be worth as much as $18,000 a ton.
The discovery was declared the richest strike in South Africa's history. According to reports, no shares soared as rapidly as those of Free State Gold Areas, Ltd., the company which owned options on the 4,200-acre Erfdeel farm.