Mineral industry of Africa in 2005 from 16.1% in 2004. In 2005, the principal mineral targets in Africa were copper, diamond, gold, and platinum group metals (PGM). African countries that experienced the highest levels of exploration activity in 2005 were, in descending order based on the number of exploration sites as compiled by the USGS, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Zambia, but activity took place in a number of other countries. Gold accounted for approximately 51% of reported African exploration projects, diamond accounted for about 14%, copper and PGM each accounted for about 11%, and nickel accounted for 5%. Early stage projects accounted
History of Johannesburg of Gauteng. The region surrounding Johannesburg was originally inhabited by San people. They were hunter-gatherers who used stone tools. There is evidence that they lived there up to ten centuries ago. By the 13th century, groups of Bantu-speaking people started moving southwards from central Africa and encroached on the indigenous San population. Stone-walled ruins of Sotho–Tswana towns and villages are scattered around the parts of the former Transvaal in which Johannesburg is situated. Many of these sites contain the ruins of Sotho–Tswana mines and iron smelting furnaces, suggesting that the area was being exploited for its mineral wealth before the