Welkom

Much of the history of Welkom is centred around the discovery of gold in the northwestern Free State. It was proclaimed a town in 1948, nine years after a major gold discovery was made in Odendaalsrus, just north of Welkom. The first prospecting in the area was done by the Englishmen Mr Donaldson and Mr Hinds on a portion of the farm Zoeten-Inval in 1896. The men discovered a small outcrop which seemed to be a conglomerate pebble reef, but they failed to raise interest among mining companies who at that stage did not believe that there was gold to be discovered south of the Vaal River. They returned to England to test the samples they had extracted, but died before reaching their destination when their ship sank in the Bay of Biscay. Prospector Arthur Megson heard of their venture and decided to investigate near the town of Odendaalsrus in 1904. …

Koppie Alleen is the only hill near Welkom and therefore is aptly named for its oddity. The terrain elevation above sea level is 1435 metres. The largest water catchment is the Sand River to the south-east of Welkom in Virginia's direction. Large saline pans such as Flamingo Pan and Theronia Pan are situated to the south-west of Welkom. Flamingo Pan is coded as an Important Bird Area (IBA) Welkom is well known for its efficient road traffic design mainly through the use of traffic circles, which has been the basis of worldwide studies. This is encouraged by flow design, the minimum of stop streets and the total absence of traffic lights and parking meters in the Central Business District. There are currently 33 large traffic circles. …

Welkom's economy centres on the mining of gold and uranium and is the hub of the Free State Goldfields. Welkom has contributed 21% to the free world's gold sales. The city and immediate surroundings are dominated by the headgears and reduction plants of several gold and uranium mining companies, including St Helena, Unisel, Welkom, Western Holdings, Free State Geduld, President Brand, President Steyn, Erfdeel Dankbaarheid, Phakisa, and Tshepong. Central Plant Reclamation (CPR): Located near Welkom, this plant was converted into a tailings retreatment facility in 2017. It reprocesses tailings from storage facilities to extract gold, with a projected operation life of approximately 11 years. Tailings have also proven problematic. …