The gold mining industry that gave rise to one of Africa's biggest cities is now in crisis.
Costs, including wages, have escalated over the past two decades and the gold itself is getting harder to get to.
Some analysts describe the gold sector as in terminal decline - a sunset industry.
Turbulent times
Crucial wage negotiations start in South Africa's gold mining sector on Thursday, the outcome of which, some analysts say, will determine the future of the whole industry.
Billions of dollars in exports and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake.
It's been a turbulent 18 months for South Africa's entire mining industry, not just gold, with workers across several sectors staging wildcat strikes.
The tensions over the mines has often boiled over into violence, including the most infamous day in South Africa's post-apartheid history last August, when 34 miners were shot dead by police near Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine.
The South African government is so concerned that it tasked Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to try to broker a stability pact for the industry. The ruling ANC faces elections next year and is keen to avoid another flare-up of violence.
While mining only contributes about 6% of South Africa's GDP (financial services and manufacturing command larger slices), it generates nearly 60% of the country's exports.
