The Gold Frontier in South Africa

Abstract

The Gold Frontier in South Africa. This paper uses the concept of commodity frontiers to compare the expansions and contractions of the South African gold frontier. Similarities and differences to its counterparts in the USA or Australia become visible in the South African gold frontier’s rapid industrialization, massive exploitation of low-skilled workers and tremendous damage to the natural environment. In addition to these regional factors, the approach also shows to what extent the gold economy has its own specific functional interrelations. Finally, the study also demonstrates how global changes and local dynamics can interact in very different and sometimes unexpected ways.