Driefontein is located along the West Wits Line that forms part of the Far West Rand of the Witwatersrand Basin. The Witwatersrand Basin comprises a 6.000m vertical thickness of sedimentary rocks, extending laterally for some 350km northeast to southwest by some 150km northwest to southeast, generally dipping at shallow angles toward the centre of the Witwatersrand Basin. The Witwatersrand Basin outcrops at its northern extent near Johannesburg, but to the west, south and east it is overlaid by up to 4,000m of volcanic and sedimentary rocks.

Gold mineralisation occurs within laterally extensive quartz-pebble conglomerates called reefs, which are developed above unconformable surfaces. As a result of faulting and primary controls on mineralisation processes, the goldfields are not continuous and are characterised by the presence or dominance of different reef units. The reefs are generally less than two metres in thickness and are widely considered to represent laterally extensive braided fluvial deposits or unconfined flow deposits, which formed along the flanks of alluvial fan systems around the edge of an inland sea. Dykes and sills of dolerite composition are developed within the Witwatersrand Basin and are associated with several intrusive and extrusive events.

Gold generally occurs in native form, often associated with pyrite, carbon and uranium. Pyrite and gold within the reefs display a variety of forms, some obviously indicative of detrital tran ........

Driefontein is a mature intermediate to ultra-deep level gold mine. It consists of four vertical operating shafts, No. 1 Shaft, No. 4 Shaft, No. 5 Shaft and No. 8 Shaft, extending down to 50 Level (the lowest working level) at No. 5 Shaft, approximately 3,300m below surface.

Ore from all the shafts is processed at Driefontein No. 1 Plant. The production from No. 4 Shaft and No. 5 Shaft is conveyed underground to No. 2 Shaft on 22 and 24 levels for hoisting.

As Driefontein is a well-developed orebody that has been extensively mined, the choice of mining method is constrained by this historical mining. The orebody is narrow tabular in nature and is accessed through vertical shafts, with evenly spaced development in the footwall. On reef development is advanced on true dip, ledged and then stoped to either side in the direction of strike. All mining at Driefontein is conventional in nature and is consistent with other similar orebodies.
Mining methods are based on a number of factors and are shaft, infrastructure and orebody specific. They are made by experienced mining engineering professionals, with input from all disciplines.

The mining methods employed at Driefontein are subdivided as follows:
- No. 1 SV Shaft: minimal extraction of previously unmined (white) areas and scattered mining: shaft pillar partial extraction:
- No. 1 T and No. 5 SV Shafts: breast mining with dip pillars: scattered white areas;
- No. 4 SV Shaft: s ........

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