TOP 10

82

Located around 65km west of Johannesburg and extending almost 4km beneath the surface of Gauteng province , the South African Mponeng gold mine is the deepest in the world from ground level . With temperatures in the mine ’ s rockface reaching around 66 , ice slurry is pumped underground to reduce air temperature to below 30 . In May 2020 , a COVID-19 outbreak closed the mine after it had resumed operations following a national lockdown in March of the same year . The mine leverages electronic tracking technologies to maximise miner safety , and this tech was instrumental in quickly and effectively notifying close contacts of those who tested positive for the coronavirus . AngloGold Ashanti owns and operates the mine , but it agreed to sell the facility to Harmony Gold in February 2020 . As of June 2020 , Harmony Gold has raised over US $ 200mn to fund the acquisition of AngloGold ’ s Mponeng assets .

SUMMER / AUTUMN 2020