From mining house to home office: SA mining is bidding adieu to HQ

(miningmx.com) - South Africa’s mining ‘houses’ were so described to convey the sense of sprawling corporatisation that through time came to typify the ownership patterns of country’s mineral resources. But to call a thing a house also implies a physical confidence. Thus, Johannesburg’s Main Street had its tapestried Anglo American headquarters; Fox Street was where Gold Fields of SA resided with its airy, marbled reception in front of which the bust of founder, Cecil John Rhodes, stood, atop a plinth; a piece of statuary that would surely be in jeopardy today. Consolidated Building, opposite the JCI building on Harrison Street (until it was sold for R6m following the company’s dissolution) contained a charming, hand-operated lift, reputed to date from when Johannesburg really was just a mining town. All history now, especially as Anglo American confirmed in an e-mail that it was pressing ahead with its move to new offices in Rosebank from Johannesburg, notwithstanding the adoption of work from home practices that will continue after the Covid-19 pandemic.