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Stuff from Johannesburg

LIVESTREAM: Zwane testifies at state capture inquiry

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. LIVESTREAM: Zwane testifies at state capture inquiry: JOHANNESBURG – Former Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is expected to testify at the state capture inquiry. The inquiry will hear will evidence related to Eskom and Estina dairy farm project … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Boss Level loops time and packs the action: A Frank Grillo-fuelled science fiction action film set in the mould of ‘Groundhog Day'(1993) but with a revenge bent. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. South Africa’s 27th Freedom Day: The Rainbow Nation of South Africa celebrates 27 years since the first democratic elections were held, on April 27. Similar to India, it was possible thanks to the toil and sacrifices of its founding … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. How to explore Johannesburg with only your smartphone camera: Johannesburg was established in 1886 following the discovery of gold. It is South Africa’s commercial, financial, industrial and cultural hub and the biggest city in South Africa. Instead of visiting … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. ‘Ajay Gupta was Malusi Gigaba’s unofficial advisor’ – Norma Mngoma: Malusi Gigaba’s estranged wife testified at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture, where she said Gigaba returned with bags of cash after visits to the Gupta residence. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Travelling to South Africa?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? City Deep is the world’s largest dry port: Johannesburg the world’s largest city that isn’t located near a coastline or navigable river. City Deep was developed 1977 by South African Railways to accommodate 50% of the city’s cargo (which comes from ports in Cape Town and Durban).

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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.