Consolidated Gold Fields
| File:Consolgold.png | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mining |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Hanson |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people | Rudolph Agnew (Chairman) |
Consolidated Gold Fields was a UK-based gold mining enterprise publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE 100 Index until its takeover by Hanson in 1988.
History
Established in 1887 under the name Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, the firm was registered in London to fund the exploitation of gold reefs within the Transvaal Colony. By the turn of the century, it started expanding internationally, acquiring mining operations in both the United States and Australia following 1945. Up until the 1970s, its role was primarily that of a mining finance entity with largely passive holdings. In 1970, Managing Director A.R.O. Williams O.B.E stepped down.
During the post-1970 period, the company reoriented itself as a natural resources group focused on a select portfolio of minerals. It controlled three principal wholly owned subsidiaries: Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation, Gold Fields Corporation, and ARC America, with the latter two operating in the United States.
By the late 1980s, Consolidated Gold Fields was contemplating a complete withdrawal from South Africa. In early 1988, it successfully resisted a hostile takeover attempt by Minorco. The company played a significant role in facilitating the end of apartheid through its public affairs director, Michael Young, who arranged covert negotiations between the South African government and the African National Congress at its Somerset estate. These initiatives contributed to Nelson Mandela's release in 1990 and paved the way for majority rule, developments documented in Robert Harvey's The Fall of Apartheid and portrayed in the film Endgame.
Demise of the business
In 1988, Hanson acquired Consolidated Gold Fields for £3.5 billion.
Further reading
- Cartwright, A.P. Gold Paved the Way Macmillan, London 1967. A history of the company.
- Heslop, Philip Consolidated Gold Fields plc: investigation under Section 442 of the Companies Act 1985, The Stationery Office, 1994,
- Mining companies of the United Kingdom
- Gold mining companies of the United Kingdom
- Defunct mining companies of the United Kingdom
- Defunct companies based in London
- Non-renewable resource companies established in 1887
- British companies disestablished in 1988
- 1887 establishments in England
- 1988 disestablishments in England
- Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
- British companies established in 1887