The entrance is via a lidded and locked concrete tube with a short (approximately 15') fixed metal ladder.
Clambering through a hole at the bottom of the tube gains access to the large main passage, a steep incline of
sizeable proportions.
A series of regular passages radiates to either side of the main incline. Many of these exhibit the most amazing pack walls of
neatly-dressed chert blocks - though evidently not of a high enough quality to be taken out of the mine.
They were thus used for backfilling and
support of the worked-out areas, although it does seem astonishing that this stone has effectively gone to waste.
However, towards the end of the mine, it is clear that some of the pack walls have been "robbed" and
the workings at the lower end of the incline are consequently less stable.
There are some excellent examples of test shotholes to be seen in Pretoria Chert Mine.
There are also impressive rails down the length of the incline, a turntable, and other artefacts left underground
from Pretoria's heyday as a working chert mine.
Our grateful thanks are expressed to the landowners for granting access and to PDMHS for arranging this.