Ferreira's Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Below Standard Bank head office, 5 Simmonds Street, Johannesburg.
Open:	closed. [2023]
Fee:	closed. [2023]
Classification:	Gold Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Standard Bank Group Limited, Standard Bank Centre, 5 Simmonds Street, Johannesburg 2001, Tel: 27-11-636-9111, Fax: 27-11-636-4207. E-mail: Standard Bank Group Limited, P O Box 7725, Johannesburg 2000.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

OCT-1886	gold discovered by Ignatius Phillip Ferreira and mine started.
11-OCT-1886	Standard Bank opened as the first bank to open a branch on the Witwatersrand gold fields.
1986	stope or access tunnel discovered three levels below ground.
1990	5 Simmonds Street completed and becomes the bank's head office.

Description

Colonel Ignatius Phillip Ferreira (*1840-✝1921) was a speculator, who tried to get rich in the diamond and gold rushes of Kimberley, the Eastern Transvaal and finally the Witwatersrand. When he found gold, he formed the Ferreira Company syndicate and the Ferreira Gold Mining Company. In the south of Johannesburg he established a miners camp known as Ferreira's Camp, which later became the southern Johannesburg suburb Ferreira's Town or Ferreirasdorp. But he soon lost his share and retired to a farm near Makhado.

The mine is abandoned for a long time now, and was completely forgotten. In the mid 1980s, the Standard Bank built its head office on this place. During excavation of the basement, they found an old stope or access tunnel. It once led to the Ferreira's Mine and is of great historic importance. The bank has preserved the stope and its surrounding area and created a museum open to the public. To solve the problem of subsidence, they developed a new technique that involved caulking the top of the stopes to stabilize the ground. Some of the underground tunnels were filled with concrete and cement grout.

The former gold mine is located in the basement of the corporate head office building of Standard Bank in the middle of Johannesburg. About 10 years ago they offered a free visit during their open hours, but it seems this was discontinued. We guess they still use the site for receptions, but as they are not open to the public any longer we added this site to the growing list of closed sites.