The biggest company to have listed so far is Gold Fields of South Africa, one of the world's largest gold producers.
Fields of white and gold daisies stretch endlessly, perfuming the air.
Gold Fields is one of the largest unhedged gold producers with 3.5 million gold-equivalent ounces produced from eight operating mines in Australia, Ghana, Peru and South Africa.
FORBES: Recap Of The Major Mines Impacted By The South African Mine Strikes
Mines are increasingly run not by engineers, but by businessmen, such as Bobby Godsell, chief executive of AngloGold, and Chris Thompson, chairman of Gold Fields.
Yet, even at a premium of 29% to the average price of Gold Fields' shares during the past month, Harmony's offer is not a knock-out blow.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, Gold Fields suffered from major strikes.
But an old woman, a shaman, stayed to tell Khabarov of mountains full of gold and gems, and of Dauria's fields of grain enough, he reckoned, to feed 20, 000 and get flour to Yakutsk in two months instead of four years.
Last week, Ms Ramphele resigned as chairperson of leading gold miner Gold Fields to prepare for her entry into politics.
In March, Vladimir Potanin, a Russian tycoon who controls Norilsk, bought a stake in Gold Fields as a way of diversifying his own interests outside Russia.
But in its end of the year presentation, Gold Fields provided the following chart depicting how poorly the large gold mining company shares have done since 2006 compared to owning the physical metal.
Harmony's aim in bidding for Gold Fields is plain enough: it wants to get its hands on more of South Africa's gold deposits despite the rising cost of producing the stuff there.
Gold Fields needs to do some sort of a deal if it is to prosper.
Gold Fields provided the full year range of just 1.825- 1.9 million oz.
Many finds have the ring of folklore: One trove was uncovered in 1910 by a peasant plowing his fields, another when a Ukrainian shepherd boy stepped into a pot of gold.
Some of the big gold and platinum producers, such as AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony, Lonmin and Aquarius, have been granted new licences for existing mines.
Back in the Kolar Gold Fields, the employees pray for their future at the local church dedicated to the Mother of Mines.
With Gold Fields' annual meeting due in November, the deal with Iamgold could be sealed before the end of the year.
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