Back to Pilgrims Rest

This week I was assigned another transportation job to our sister mine TGME in Pilgrims Rest. Instead of transporting a ton of Carbon, this time I was driving up 5 drums of Potassium Cyanide. The cyanide is used in the treatment process to activate the gold and help it stick to the carbon in a during Carbon-in-leach processing. It is added to a mix of gold concentrate and carbon in large tanks, and must be done with close control of the pH and density of this mixture. If the pH is too acidic in the mixture and the cyanide is added, it creates cyanide gas, which can really ruin your day. Thankfully the cyanide I was transporting was locked up in a plastic bag which is in turn placed inside of a sealed drum, but I felt a bit like a bond villain or something driving around 5 drums with big pictures of the skull and cross bones printed on the sides.

Unlike last week, I also did not have Vincent as a second driver to share the journey with. It was my first solo adventure out on the road! Fortunately the load was a lot lighter this time and my truck more powerful, so it cut about 2 hours off of the driving time. I also took a different route, this time turning left after passing through Amsterdam and driving to Pilgrims Rest via Carolina, Machadodorp, and Lydenburg. Driving with a map and the road signs as my navigators, I only hit a small hitch between Machadodorp and Lydenburg. Lydenburg was well sign posted until I was about 40 km away, when the signs only pointed to a new town called Mashishing. I pulled over and couldn't find Mashishing anywhere on my map. I was sure I hadn't taken a wrong turn anywhere, and then it finally hit me. South Africa's government has been implementing a campaign to change many city names back to the original local tribal names they previously were known by before white European settlement. It's a nice idea in terms of cultural rehabilitation purposes, but it definitely can cause some confusion. Lydenburg had been changed to Mashishing.

With that figured out, I continued on, eventually climbing the mountain road and reaching the summit of the pass just West of Pilgrims Rest, which tops out at 5, 700 feet elevation and offers spectacular views across the imposing terrain of the eastern gold fields. The road then drops sharply down into the valley where the small town of Pilgrims Rest is accompanied by a sprawling township, a 9 hole golf course, and the mine. Arriving at the mine around 6:30, I dropped of the cyanide and drove back into town just as the sun was setting behind Mt. Sheba in the distance.

This time I was put up in the Royal Hotel in the old town, complete with a buffet dinner and breakfast. I did what everyone does at buffets, ate way too much food, and then ventured in to the adjacent bar owned by the hotel. That's when I ran into about 50 Swedish tourists, all in their 50's or 60's, who came in a tour bus that evening. With the bar mobbed, I walked down the road to Johnny's Pub where I had visited the week before and found some familiar faces. I got to talking to Henko, the guy who ran the golf course in town, and he begged me to come play sometime. Unfortunately I was working the next day.

The next morning I stuffed myself with bacon, eggs, and hash browns before driving back to the mine to take more samples of the tailings dam. The job was finished by 10 with the help of five guys with shovels and wheelbarrows, so I left much earlier than planned and headed straight to the golf course.

When I arrived, I was met by the typical "parking attendants" found in most parking lots in this country who watch your car in return for 5 or 10 rand. I entered the small clubhouse there where Henko sat filling out some paperwork. Except for him, the bartender, and a few greens keepers, the place was completely deserted. I was assigned a caddy named Oba and given a set of rental clubs and proceeded to go out and fire a spectacularly mediocre 45. It was nice to know I still have my swing after not playing for two months though.

I eventually drove back to Klipwal and arrived at 6 pm. A storm was already brewing on the way home, and just as it got dark, the power went out. I spent the evening sitting under the dim glow of my Lego man lantern reading Lord of the Rings with the lightning flashing relentlessly outside.