Barberton is one of the only old towns in Mpumalanga where gold is still being mined actively.
Of the multitude of gold mines discovered and worked in the late 1880's, four are still being mined. They are: Agnes (Company: African Pioneer Mining) New Consort, Fairview and Sheba collectively known as Barberton Mines (Company: Metorex).
Agnes Gold Mine: Jack Greaves was a prospector from the UK and discovered gold here in 1888. The mine is named after his wife Jessie Agnes. The Jessievale plantation. 40 km south-east of Carolina, is also named after her. He sold the mine for 1000 pounds to A J Knuckley who later sold it to Rowe and Gibson.
Fairview Gold Mine: Numerous individual mines operated within the confines of the Fairview property. One of the earliest producers from this area was the Kidson Reef Gold Mining Company Limited, formed in 1887. Fairview today, is the only gold mine in South Africa which has a biox plant to extract gold.
New Consort Gold Mine: One of the oldest working gold mines in the world, established in 1885.
Sheba Gold Mine: One of the first discoveries in the Sheba valley was the "Nil Desperandum Lode". While prospecting downstream from the Nil Desperandum Lode, Edward Bray (1824-1887) discovered the rich Golden Quarry which yielded 8 oz of gold per ton in a trial crushing. This led to intense prospecting and mining activity in the vicinity and numerous companies were formed