Hardcover. Gottingen GR, Steidl, 1st thus, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 180 pages. This edition of On the Mines is a re-designed and expanded version of David Goldblatts influential book published in 1973. Goldblatt grew up in the South African town of Randfontein. which was shaped by the social culture and financial success of the gold mines surrounding it. When these mines started to fail in the mid-sixties Goldblatt began taking photos of them. The book features an essay on the human and political dimensions of mining in South Africa by Nadine Gordimer.