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Stuff from Johannesburg

COVID-19 | WATCH | Spike in infections at Gauteng schools

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. COVID-19 | WATCH | Spike in infections at Gauteng schools: Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga is expected to hold a briefing on Saturday, with many wondering if schools around the country will be closed? In Gauteng, there have been close to 1,000 new … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Many South African households hit hard, struggle to get by: Johannesburg – More South Africans have seen their disposal incomes slashed due to the debt burden, with a study by Transactional Capital indicating that … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. COVID-19 | WATCH | Army reinforcements to aid Gauteng: Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says the SANDF medical staff will help with the COVID-19 response. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. 4 Lucky winners from Kenya meet top American rapper J-Cole’s at concert: Lucky winners from Kenya got the chance to meet rapper J-Cole in Johannesburg, South Africa even as they were accorded VIP treatment at the Castle Lite Unlocks J-Cole concert held at TicketPro Dome. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. City of Joburg Empowers Entrepreneurs and SMMEs at INDUTEC: INDUTEC is endorsed and supported by more than 36 professional institutes and associations, making it the leading Industry showcase on the continent … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Travelling to South Africa?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Boiling an egg takes one-minute longer: Your cobb salad might take a little bit longer than usual. Johannesburg is 2000m above sea level so the air is not as dense.

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Top Star Drive-In: Destroyed by What Created it

However, the very thing that created the Top Star eventually destroyed it. Because the early miners had used crude methods, the Ferreira Dump—and dozens of others like it—still contained significant traces of gold. As the price of gold rose and new chemical extraction technologies (like the carbon-in-pulp process) made it profitable to “mine the waste,” the ground beneath the Top Star became more valuable than the cinema itself. In 2006, despite fierce opposition from heritage groups who argued that the dump and the drive-in were culturally significant landmarks, the projectors were turned off for the last time.

The reclamation of the dump was a staggering industrial feat. Starting in 2008, mining giant DRDGold used high-pressure water cannons to “monitor” the dump, turning 5 million tons of solid earth back into a liquid slurry. This slurry was then piped 40 kilometers across the province to a processing plant in Brakpan. By 2011, the “mountain” had completely vanished. The 50-meter-high plateau that had dominated the southern skyline for a century was reduced to a flat, dusty crater.

The disappearance of the Top Star is a poignant symbol of Johannesburg’s “extractive” nature. It is a city that consumes itself to stay alive; even its historical landmarks are subject to the fluctuating price of minerals on the London and New York stock exchanges. Today, if you drive along the M2, there is an empty space in the sky where the Top Star used to be. While the reclamation removed a source of toxic dust and “acid mine drainage,” it also erased a piece of the city’s collective memory. The land where the gold-flecked mountain once stood is now being rehabilitated for light industrial use, proving that in eGoli, even the horizon is for sale if there’s enough gold hidden inside it.