Why were Chinese indentured labourers brought to the Witwatersrand mines?

Chinese indentured labourers were brought to the Witwatersrand mines in the early 20th century primarily to address a critical labour shortage and to undermine the bargaining power of Black workers.123

Following the South African War, the colonial administration and the Chamber of Mines sought to restore the profitability of the gold industry, which faced high development costs and low-grade ore. When efforts to force Black workers to accept lower wages through taxes and pass laws failed, the administration authorized the importation of approximately 60,000 Chinese labourers.412

This policy was a deliberate strategy of economic engineering designed to undercut the resistance of Black migrants to wage cuts. Although the Chinese miners mostly returned home by 1910, their employment successfully pressured Black workers and established a precedent for a statutory colour bar in the gold mines, which was later formalized to protect the positions and wages of white workers.135