Conversation so far:
What was The Old Boers?
the Old Boers (Hertzog, Steyn, De Wet).
Why was he called this?
CANNOTANSWER.
What did he do during this time/?
A small-scale miners' dispute flared into a full-blown strike, and rioting broke out in Johannesburg after Smuts intervened heavy-handedly.

Question: What was the dispute over?
Self-contained rewrite: What was the small-scale miners' dispute over?