The history of SA’s Rand Refinery: making the gold glister
Rand Refinery was established 100 years ago to process the riches from the Witwatersrand reef discovered in 1886. Its history is linked closely with that of SA’s, and though the original gold ore deposits dwindled, the company has found business opportunities elsewhere, across the world
From the tail end of one pandemic into the headwinds of another is one way to describe the often turbulent 100-year existence of Rand Refinery, the world’s largest single-site gold refining business."We seem to have come full circle, sandwiched between two pandemics," says CEO Praveen Baijnath about the company’s history.Rand Refinery has been the largest manufacturer of 400oz London "good delivery" bars since 1921. The term is a description the London Bullion Market Association uses for the physical characteristics of gold bars used in settlement on the wholesale London bullion market.The association also grants accreditation to refineries such as Rand Refinery, which produces gold bars of large size and high purity used in major international markets. The refinery is the only one in Africa certified to deliver gold to major international banks.The Germiston company was established by the Chamber of Mines (now the Minerals Council SA) in 1920, just as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1...
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