Platinum, gold and diamonds

Platinum, gold and diamonds recounts the captivating story of the life of Hans Merensky, responsible for discovering the richest platinum deposit worldwide in South Africa. Born the son of a well known missionary at Botshabelo (Transvaal), Merensky was trained as a geologist in Germany and drawn back to South Africa by his creative ambition to explore the potential of his native country. On close scrutiny Hans Merensky (*March 16, 1871 to †October 21, 1952) was far more than the wizard geologist the press dubbed him during his heyday. Today it is obvious that Merensky was not only a scientist of note, but also an extremely farsighted and thoughtful economic strategist, agricultural trendsetter, humanitarian and philanthropist. Nothing could extinguish his enthusiasm for his adopted homeland’s undiscovered treasures and despite bankruptcy, internment, illness, political obstacles and later, old age, Hans Merensky saw only opportunity wherever he went. From the discovery of the Merensky-Reef (the richest platinum deposit world wide) and the richest deposits of alluvial gem diamonds ever found to the initial attempts at the commercial cultivation of avocados and the controlled planting of saligna (Eucalyptus) and pine trees—almost everything Hans Merensky touched turned to gold (platin, rather). The book however, does not stop at merely portraying Merensky's life and achievements. Text boxes throughout the text provide background information about ore geology and economic geology, mineral markets and supporting data to enable the reader to understand the implications of Merensky's achievements.