1867
Diamonds discovered in Orange Free State and Kimberley.
1867
Diamond mining begins in Griqualand West.
1872
Introduction of pass laws to control labor force in Kimberley diamond mines.
1873
Diamond diggers exceed 50,000
1886
Gold discovered at Witwatersrand; Johannesburg established.
1889
Cecil Rhodes already extremely wealthy from diamond mining, set his ambitions north of the Limpopo and tricked Lobengula, the King of the Ndebele into handing over his land. Ndebele thought he was granting Rhodes a limited mining concession.
1907
White miners strike against Chinese labor
1922
Army quells miners' strike, killing 214
1941
African workers formed the African Mine Workers Union
1943
In order to stave off the growing unrest among the African mine workers, the regime appointed a Commission of Enquiry
1946
They called a general strike. Nine men were killed, and seventy men were dismissed. The union was subsequently banned. The need for more cheap black labour after the Second World War led the South African government to look for migrant workers outside South Africa, mainly from Mozambique and Malawi.
1970
Anglo American became the biggest mining group in southern Africa. It had a high commercial profile, worldwide. Anglo American had a controlling interest in mines in Botswana and Zambia.
1987
250,000 African mineworkers strike
