Steelpoort

Steelpoort is a mining town in Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located on the border with Mpumalanga province.[2]

Steelpoort
Steelpoort Steelpoort
Coordinates: 24.73°S 30.20°E
Country	South Africa
Province	Limpopo
District	Sekhukhune
Municipality	Greater Tubatse
Area [1]
• Total	3.11 km^2 (1.20 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	1,105
• Density	360/km^2 (920/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	66.0%
• Coloured	4.2%
• Indian/Asian	1.2%
• White	28.5%
• Other	0.1%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Northern Sotho	34.5%
• Afrikaans	33.3%
• English	11.7%
• Zulu	3.6%
• Other	17.0%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	1133
PO box	1133
Area code	013

Mining operations around Steelpoort include the Dwarsrivier chrome mine (30 km from Steelpoort, located in Mpumalanga) [3] owned by Assmang, Tweefontein chrome mine and Tubatse Ferrochrome, owned by Samancor, Two Rivers and Modikwa platinum mines managed by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals, as well as Mototolo platinum mine and the Lion Ferrochrome smelter, both owned by Xstrata and Marula Platinum (PTY)LTD owned by Impala Platinum.[2]

The name Steelpoort is believed to be derived from a hunting expedition that took place either in the late 19th century or the early 20th century. When a group of Voortrekkers from Natal under Frans Joubert had settled there, a man called Scholtz shot an elephant at dusk and on returning next morning found that the tusks had been removed. The river flowing through the poort was then called Steelpoort River (‘steel’ meaning steal).[4] An increase in the mining of chrome and magnetite led to the construction of a railway line between Steelpoort and Lydenburg in 1924.[4]

References

1. "Main Place Steelpoort". Census 2011.
2. "Steelpoort at war with miners". The New Age Online. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
3. Assmang chrome: Dwarsrivier mine
4. "A Phase I Heritage Impact Assessment (hia) Study For Modikwa Platinum's South Shaft 3 Project Area In The Steelpoort In The Limpopo And Mpumalanga Provinces Of South Africa" (PDF). South African Heritage Resources Agency. Retrieved 2 January 2014.