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South Africa

Rustenburg: the most important platinum mines in the world

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Rustenburg is a city in the North West province located 100 km north west of Johannesburg. The city is located at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range, on the Highveld Plateau at a height of 1,170 masl. The city has just over one hundred thousand inhabitants, but its metropolitan area exceeds five hundred thousand inhabitants.

Founded in 1851 by Boer settlers, Rustenburg is one of the oldest settlements in northern South Africa. Here the president of the Boer republic of Transvaal, Paul Kruger, also lived for a certain period of time. Today his farm called Boekenhoutfontein is a museum dedicated to him, the Paul Kruger Country Museum.

Rustenburg is an important mining town home to the two most important platinum mines in the world. Here is also the largest platinum refinery in the world, which processes around 70% of the world’s platinum.

Rustenburg can be used as a base for exploring the places where important battles of the Anglo-Boer War took place. The most important attractions, however, are the nearby nature reserves of Kgaswane Game Reserve, Madikwe Game Reserve, Groot Marico Park and Pilanesberg Game Reserve.

Finally, other popular attractions are the entertainment cities of Sun City and Lost City. Here you will find casinos, golf courses and luxury resorts, set in a picturesque valley in the Pilanesberg mountains.

The climate of Rustenburg.

The page of the town hall of Rustenburg.

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