Kalkkloof mine, southwest of the Havelock towards Carolina, Transvaal

A 1959 history of South African chrysotile in Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, tells of prospecting "in 1908, first in the Kaapsche Hoop area and then east of Carolina, where the Kalkkloof Mine ultimately opened up and produced asbestos for a considerable time."⁴ In August 1929 the journal had reported that the African Asbestos Trust property, "the Kalk-kloof one," was "said to be opening up well and will probably exceed expectations in both quality and quantity of Chrysotile Asbestos found thereon."⁵ In December 1953 the consulting mining engineer W. E. Sinclair named Kalkkloof among the mines "southwest towards Carolina" that "are producing chrysotile asbestos."¹ The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1960, drawing on the South African Mining and Engineering Journal, wrote of plans "for improving operations at the Lalkloof chrysotile mine of the African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.," and said the company "increased the development work at its Lalkloof Mine, and rearrangement of the grading plant was planned."² In December 1966 Asbestos reported that the "Kalkkloof Asbestos Mine, in the Kaapsche Hoop District, Eastern Transvaal," was "suspending mining operations."⁶

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.³

Output the documents report

Figures as printed, in the units each document uses (short tons before about 1990, metric tons after, in most U.S. chapters). Some are a year's output, some a daily rate or a capacity, some a company's total rather than this mine's alone; the statement for that year below says which.

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1908

• Opened: “east of Carolina, where the Kalkkloof Mine ultimately opened up and produced asbestos for a considerable time”, p. 6⁴

1929

• Exploration: “said to be opening up well” (African Asbestos Trust), p. 53⁵

1953

• Worked: “Kalkkloof ... producing chrysotile asbestos”, said by W. E. Sinclair, M.I.M.M. (Consulting Mining Engineer), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 12¹

1960

• Worked: “Plans were revealed for improving operations at the Lalkloof chrysotile mine of the African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.” (African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.), as reported by South African Mining and Engineering Journal, p. 9²
• Exploration: “The company increased the development work at its Lalkloof Mine” (African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.), as reported by South African Mining and Engineering Journal, p. 9²
• Fiber: “chrysotile mine” (African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.), p. 9²

1961

• Output: “recovered 4,003 tons of fiber from 81,106 tons of ore milled during the year ending June 30, 1962” (African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.), p. 11³

1962

• Worked: “African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd., were other important producers” (African Asbestos-Cement Corp., Ltd.), p. 11³

1966

• Idle: “are suspending mining operations”, p. 6⁶

Other names

Documents call this mine “Kalkkloof”, “Kalkkloof Mine”, “Lalkloof chrysotile mine”, “Lalkloof Mine”, “Kalk-kloof”, “Kalkkloof Asbestos Mine”.

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, December 1953 (December 1, 1953), p. 12.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1960 (January 1, 1961), p. 9.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 11.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1959, August 1959 (August 1, 1959), p. 6.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1929, August 1929 (August 1, 1929), p. 53.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, December 1966 (December 1, 1966), p. 6.