Hartbeesfontein, officially Lethabong, is a settlement near

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repub ...

, in the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

province of South Africa. It is situated at the intersection of the R503 and R507 routes.

Geology

The town is situated on an ancient geological feature known as the Hartbeesfontein basin (or KOSH basin), which is the source of the gold found on its southern rim. Underground water occurs in abundance in

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

s of the region. When the water is however allowed to seep into mines it is oxidised and polluted by the exposed

iron pyrites The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...

. As of 2005 when Buffelsfontein mine went out of business, it became a burden on the remaining mines to keep the interconnected tunnels free of water.

History

A small pass above town, Hartebeesfontein Poort, was the scene of a

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

skirmish on February 17, 1901. The British forces, a contingent of

Lord Methuen Baron Methuen, of Corsham in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron (who ...

led by Captain Poison, were descending the 500 ft escarpment above town, when they were confronted by entrenched Boer forces of about double their number. From dawn to 10 o'clock the forces were deadlocked, when Lord Methuen ordered two companies of

Major Murray Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

's convoy guard to occupy a strategic position. After some dozens of soldiers were killed on each side, the British secured the pass and captured ample Boer supplies of stock and grain.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality Battles of the Second Boer War Mining communities in South Africa