Аннотация:The endogenic nature of the Witwatersrand deposit and the combination of three ore formations in it, viz., two sulfide–quartz (of normal and high alkalinity) and one hydrocarbon (tucholite), are substan tiated. To explain the concentration of uranium and gold in alkali–metal quartz melts, a new hypothesis on the formation of ore–silicon complexes K3[AuSiO5] etc. is suggested. A rhythmic explosive ore formation in the Archean depression of the Kaapvaal craton is considered.