Lions Cavern is the oldest mine known to man and is a modest hole on the hillside - a part of Ngwenya Mine which is an active mine.
Eswatini
Lions Cavern mine was used by the ancient people to mine red haematite (iron ore) and specularite (sparkling ores). Ngwenya, which means crocodile, describes the shape of Eswatini’s (Swaziland’s) second-highest mountain. The mine is situated on the north-western border of Swaziland.
Since 43000BC
Charcoal nodules found at the site were sent for radio carbon dating and a date of 43000BC was obtained making this one of the oldest known mining operation in the world however the mine could be older than this date as the mine was probably in operation prior to the charcoal formation.
Mining tools
Ancient mining tools found in the site which included choppers, picks and hammers made of dolerite. These were more specialised and foreign to those that were found on Stone Age sites which more resembled modern tools such as
Shovels.
The red haematite and specularite is thought to have had a varied number of uses in the past ranging from elite/noble cosmetics, decorative material on ceramics to rock art paint as seen in the artwork from the ancestors of the present San.
Iron ore
It is thought these ores were mined up untill 23000BC when the site was abandoned. At about 400 AD (although operations may have been started some time prior) it is though the site was reoccupied and iron ore was mined helping propel sub saharan Africa into the iron age.
Other mines
Though the world has other mines for earlier periods like the mining area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun (Sweden) and the lwami Ginzan Silver Mine in Japan, they all date to a far later period (13th and 16th century respectively). They all boost of mining a single mineral.
Ngwenya on the other hand shows evidence of three separate mining activities within the site which is the Lion Carven mine for specularite and red ochre, Castle carven for 400AD iron ore mining and two open casts for the 1964-1977 morden iron ore mining testa ment to Africa's vast Natural wealth.
References
https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5421/
https://face2faceafrica.com/article/this-mine-in-swaziland-that-produced-iron-43000-years-ago-is-the-worlds-oldest
