Photo: World's Deepest Mines Highlight Risks of New Gold Rush

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The mining company Gold Fields Ltd. plans to drill the deepest mine shaft in history—2.5 miles (4 kilometers) underground—at their Driefontein Gold Mine southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The project is the beginning of a new rush by mining companies to dig "ultra-deep" for the country's remaining gold ore deposits.

Photograph courtesy Gold Fields Limited

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