The Silver Myn Story

Although not sure when the first vines were planted on Zorgvliet the present day Chapel was indicated as the wine cellar in the opgaaf of Johannes Muller in 1732, he also left some 12 leagers of wine.

One of the farms making up the present day Zorgvliet Wine Estate has been named after a dubious mining project; Silver Myn has also been adopted as the niche label (Silver Myn) for unconventional products such as Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Viognier.

For the Dutch East India Company it was important to exploit whatever resources it had to offer. Simon van der Stel made his famous expedition to Namaqualand in search of copper in 1685. Attempts to find silver met with less success so there was great excitement in 1740 when Frans Diederik Muller claimed to have discovered silver at the Simonsberg. By 1743 Muller had persuaded the authorities to grant him mining rights. With the backing of a reputable businessman, Olaf de Wet a company the Octroojeerde Society der Mynwerken aan de Simonsberg was formed. Muller was appointed Bergmeester (master miner) and work began in 1743 with Company soldiers, sailors and some slaves. Long tunnels were built into the side of the mountain at two levels and shafts of 50-100 feet deep were sunk to connect them. For five years Muller continued to demand more labour and funds in order to extract the rich deposits that lay ahead – with promise of silver, later copper and even gold! Eventually the Directors became suspicious and sent a sample of ore to Amsterdam for analyses. Muller was exposed and banished to Batavia. Mining seized but the mine remains intact.

Was this a hoax, the first white collar crime in South Africa or are there silver and gold deposits to be found in the belly of the Simonsberg?