Stilfontein
| Stilfontein | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 26 ° 51 ′ S , 26 ° 46 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| northwest | |||
| District | Dr Kenneth Kaunda | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-NW | ||
| local community | City of Matlosana | ||
| height | 1347 m | ||
| surface | 138.8 km² | ||
| Residents | 17,942 (2011) | ||
| density | 129.2 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1949 | ||
Stilfontein is a city in the South African province of Northwest ( Northwest ). It is located in the City of Matlosana parish in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district .
geography
In 2011 Stilfontein had 17,942 inhabitants, including around 56% white people . The township settlement of Khuma is located within the urban area with 45,895 residents, around 99% of whom are black . A total of around 64,000 people live in the area.
Stilfontein is close to the border with the province of Free State . The city is part of the KOSH area, which includes Klerksdorp , which includes Orkney , Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein to the southwest, and is characterized by gold mining.
history
The city was created in 1949 as a residence for miners from the gold mines . The place name comes from Afrikaans and means "quiet spring". The General Mining Union Corporation Ltd. started gold mining in Stilfontein in July 1952 and expanded its business operations in October 1953 to include uranium extraction from the sludge produced by the gold mining process. The quantities of raw materials obtained in this short time prompted the expansion between 1953 and 1954 with a doubling of the processing capacities on site.
In 2005 there was a mining-induced earthquake that damaged numerous houses in the city. In 2014, another 5.5 earthquake damaged or destroyed over 400 houses in Khuma, and in April 2017 there was another 5.2 earthquake eight kilometers south of Stilfontein.
Economy, environment and transport
Stilfontein's economic focus is gold mining, which is accompanied by uranium extraction, which is of considerable importance for the country. Water purification systems exist to reduce the uranium content in ground and surface water.
The city is just south of National Route 12 , which connects Klerksdorp in the west and Potchefstroom in the northeast. The R502 branches off near Stilfontein and runs parallel to the N12 through Orkney towards Makwassie .
Stilfontein is on the Johannesburg - Kimberley railway line , and Koekemoer station is used by freight.
Web links
- Portrait at sa-venues.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 2011 census: Stilfontein , accessed on April 29, 2017
- ↑ 2011 Census: Khuma , accessed April 30, 2017
- ^ EB Viljoen, JL Taylor, JE Robinson et al .: The evaluation, design and construction of the uranium plant for Chemwes Limited. In: Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1981, September, pp. 280–287 online at www.saimm.co.za (English)
- ^ LM Linzer et al .: Recent research in seismology in South Africa. In: South African Journal of Science. 103, September / October 2007, p. 419.
- ↑ Devastation in Orkney: 400 homes destroyed. enca.com from August 5, 2014 (English), accessed on April 30, 2017
- ^ Entry at earthquake.usgs.gov (English), accessed on April 30, 2017
- ^ Midvaal Water Company: Water Process by Midvaal . on www.midvaalwater.co.za (English)
- ↑ Center for Environmental Rights: Mine waste solutions - Stilfontein . on www.cer.org.za (English)