: bernard swanepoel started his career underground, and ended it as the c.e.o. gold, which now owns moab khotsong. >> swanepoel: if you are in a successful mining team, it must be like a successful sports team. i mean, mining is one of those activities where, at the end of every shift, you know whether you won or lost. >> whitaker: gold was the lifeblood of south africa. the way it's dug out has changed little since apartheid, when underpaid black miners often worked in mortal danger. at its worst, more than 800 workers a year died in mining accidents. no coincidence, the struggle that led to apartheid's defeat started underground. gold and gold mining seem to be in the d.n.a. of south africa. >> swanepoel: south african gold mining especially has always been at the center of all political and other activities in our country. i mean, our bad apartheid history is intertwined with gold mining. i mean, a lot of the-- a lot of the legislation to dispossess black people of land was in order to create cheap labor for south african gold mines. >> whitaker: you grew up