MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

South African Investors See Long Road Ahead for Graft Crackdown

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. South African Investors See Long Road Ahead for Graft Crackdown: Investors in South African assets need a lot more convincing that the government crackdown on corruption will prove effective. The rand strengthened as much as 1% against the dollar Thursday, the best … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. S. African city warns visitors, residents of escaped cheetah from nature reserve: The South African City of Tshwane on Thursday warned visitors to the Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Pretoria and residents nearby to be vigilant as a cheetah who escaped from the reserve is still at large … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. FlySAX resubmits offer for bankrupt South African Express: FlySAX has submitted a revised offer to acquire South African Express (EXY, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), this time seeking to raise up to ZAR150 million rand (USD10.4 million) in working capital through … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. Lions squad: Warren Gatland defends selections by saying he expects to encounter ‘brutality’ in South Africa: Tough nuts held sway over household names, with Bundee Aki and Chris Harris making the 37-man travelling party … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Whale and Dolphin Watching in Algoa Bay?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Sophiatown was originally part of the farm Waterval. In 1897 the speculator Hermann Tobiansky acquired a 237-acre portion of the farm, which was situated about four miles or so west of the centre of Johannesburg. In 1903 he had some of the land surveyed as leasehold township, divided into almost 1700 small stands. The township was named after Tobiansky’s wife, Sophia, and some of the streets were named after his children Toby, Gerty, Bertha and Victoria. Blacks started acquiring land in Sophiatown.

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The Geological Miracle of the Witwatersrand

The very existence of Johannesburg is a geological fluke. Unlike most major global cities, Johannesburg was not built near a river, a coast, or a natural harbor. It sits 1,753 meters above sea level on a rocky ridge called the Witwatersrand (Ridge of White Waters). This ridge is the edge of the world’s largest known gold deposit, formed over 2 billion years ago when an ancient inland sea began to evaporate, leaving behind layers of gold-bearing conglomerate.

When George Harrison, an Australian prospector, stumbled upon an outcrop of gold on the farm Langlaagte in 1886, he triggered a “gold rush” that changed the course of African history. Within a decade, a dusty collection of tents and wagons transformed into a permanent city of brick and mortar. The “Main Reef” proved so vast that it eventually produced nearly 40% of all the gold ever mined in human history. This geological wealth dictated the city’s layout: the mining belt runs east-to-west across the city’s center, creating a physical divide between the wealthy northern suburbs and the industrial, working-class south. Today, while most mines within the city limits have closed due to the extreme depth and cost of extraction (some mines reached over 3.9 kilometers underground), the physical legacy remains in the form of “mine dumps”—massive yellow-white hills of crushed rock and sand that define the Joburg skyline.