Mining in the mainstay of the North West economy, NORTH WEST BUSINESS
NORTH WEST BUSINESS Page 51
Mining is the mainstag of the North West economg. Mining is the chief economic activity of the North West. Platinum is the most important mineral as the province sits on the world's biggest concentration of platinum group metals in the world. The platinum sector is covered in detail elsewhere in this publication. The Western Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex is a geological phenomenon that is astonishingly rich in minerals. The North West lies directly over most of this formation. Chromite is the other major mineral mined throughout the province, and there are several ferrochrome smelters and other processing plants. Mining beneficiation is treated as a separate topic in this book. Gold and uranium is found along the borders shared with the Gauteng and Free State provinces (Klerksdorp and Orkney), and the diamonds are mined at Christiana, Bloemhof and Lichtenburg. Lichtenburg is also the centre of the cement industry. Other minerals found in the North West include fluorspar, vanadium, rhodium, uranium, copper, limestone, slate, phosphate, manganese, coal and nickel. The province produces 64% of South Africa's platinum, 46% of its dimension stone and granite, 32% of its chromite and 25% of its gold.
NORTH WEST BUSINESS Page 52
NORTH WEST BUSINESS Page 53
Related Posts
