Rustenburg (; ,

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the Pil ...

mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in

North West province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017, the city's Gross Domestic Product (

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

) reached ZAR 63.8 billion, accounting for 21.1% of the

of the

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

, and 1.28% of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Rustenburg was one of the official host cities of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, being in close proximity to

Phokeng Phokeng is a town in Rustenburg of the North West province of South Africa. It is the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation. Historically, it was known as ''Magatostad'' among white South Africans. Etymology Phokeng gained its name from the Sesot ...

, the capital of the

Royal Bafokeng Nation The Royal Bafokeng Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present), is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers in the North West (South African province), North West Province ...

, where the

Royal Bafokeng Stadium The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is a football, rugby and athletics stadium in Phokeng near Rustenburg, South Africa. It was built and is managed by the Royal Bafokeng Nation. It was used as the home stadium for Premier Soccer League club Plat ...

is located. The

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

also used this as their base camp for the tournament.

History

Mfecane

Before European settlers arrived, the area had been settled by agrarian

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zon ...

-speaking tribes Rustenburg's population is primarily

Tswana people The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the popu ...

. Partially belonging to the

, extensive landowners earning royalties from mining operations. The Royal Bafokeng are descendants of

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s who displaced the local tribes from the region, which they came to call 'place of dew' (Phokeng). In the early 1800s, the Bafokeng and other Tswana communities were conquered in a series of devastating wars launched by an offshoot of the Zulu kingdom, called the Matebele. The Boers had also fought the Zulu and Matebele, and so the Boers and Tswana found in the Matebele a common enemy. The Tswana and Boers planned together and worked toward defeating the Matebele from a Sotho-Tswana kingdom to the south, and together, they defeated the Matebele. As the Boers settled in the area, called their settlement Rustenburg because they had relatively friendly relations with their Bafokeng allies in the area, and after the many violent military conflicts with other African chiefdoms, such as the Matebele, they believed they could rest ("rusten" in Dutch) in this settlement, whose name literally means "Resting Town." Although had already long lived in the area when the Boers arrived, the Bafokeng bought land rights from the Boers, and they purchased their first tracts of land in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century from the colonial rulers, some in exchange for serving in the

Boer Wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...

. Although these land purchases were technically illegal, Paul Kruger, who would become a president of the Transvaal Boer Republic, but was then a veld kornet, was friendly to the Bafokeng and helped arrange many of these purchases. A public hospital has been named after Paul Kruger.

Establishment

Rustenburg was established in 1851 as an administrative centre for an Afrikaner farming area that produced

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

fruit, tobacco, peanuts,

sunflower seed The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower ('' Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...

s, maize, wheat and cattle. On 10 February 1859, the

Reformed Churches in South Africa The Reformed Churches in South Africa () is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as ''Doppers''. History of the Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa In ...

was founded under a Syringa tree, now commemorated with a memorial. Rustenburg was the home of

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

, president of the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

, who bought a 5 square kilometer farm to the north-west of the town in 1863. The homestead on his farm, Boekenhoutfontein, is now the Paul Kruger Country Museum. When the Boer and the British came to blows in the

Second 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 Sout ...

(1899), the territory around Rustenburg became a battlefield. The two sides clashed at nearby Mafikeng, where the British garrison found itself under siege for months. Among the early residents of Rustenburg were settlers of Indian origin. One of the first families of Indian origin was the Bhyat family, whose contribution to the city's history was marked by the renaming of a major street name to ''Fatima Bhayat Street'' in honour of Fatima Bhyat who arrived in Rustenburg with her husband in 1877.

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

mining in Rustenburg began in 1929, shortly after the discovery of the Platinum Reef by

Hans Merensky Hans Merensky (16 March 1871 – 21 October 1952) was a South African geologist, prospector, scientist, conservationist and philanthropist. He discovered the rich deposit of alluvial diamonds at Alexander Bay in Namaqualand, vast platinum ...

, later named the

Merensky Reef The Merensky Reef is a layer of igneous rock in the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) in the North West, Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa which together with an underlying layer, the Upper Group 2 Reef (UG2), contains most o ...

. The mine is located about 3 km from the town centre and owned and managed by the

Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, n ...

. According to legend, the farmer that owned the land sold the mineral rights to Anglo American for R10 000.

Post-Apartheid

The township of Boitekong on the northeast side of Rustenburg has one of the highest incidences of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

orphans in South Africa Rustenburg was the venue for World AIDS Day commemoration in December 2010. The township is in a geographical area which bears the brunt of the catchment area of the toxic effects of the mining industry coupled with a very poor quality of water supply from the local

Bospoort Dam Bospoort Dam is a gravity/earth-fill type dam on the Hex River, a tributary of the Elands River, part of the Crocodile River (Limpopo) basin. It is located near Rustenburg, North West, South Africa. Its primary purpose is for irrigation. Hist ...

, the water from which was for decades considered too toxic for human consumption until water shortages in the nineties compelled the purification and supply to Boitekong. Life for the majority under the rule of the 'Royal Bafokeng' has parallels to the apartheid era. In the Apartheid era, forced removals of old settlements were on the basis of racial divide whereas now it is done for installation of massive mining operations sometimes engulfing entire villages. The Royal Bafokeng company own the stadium selected as a World Cup 2010 venue, the only 'private' stadium that hosted games in the 2010 World cup. The Royal Bafokeng regard themselves as a 'separate nation' which is in contradiction to the

Rainbow nation Rainbow Nation is a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa after South Africa's first fully democratic election in 1994. The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of ...

espoused by Desmond Tutu and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. This 'nationhood' is regarded by many today as a

divide and rule Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power divisively. Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their terr ...

tactic orchestrated by the mining conglomerates which has subsequently led to the calls for

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of the mining industry by the

ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

. The majority of people in the region 20 years after the fall of apartheid still live in abject poverty despite the massive profits yielded by the platinum royalties. This has led in recent years to claims of kleptocracy against the 'royal' family and

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

disputes. Agriculture in the region has been in constant decline since the decimation of the vast citrus estates of Rustenburg in the 1970s and 1980s due to pollution from increased smelting and beneficiating processes by mines. There are only a fraction of the original citrus farms remaining. In 1990, the first post-Apartheid conference between the

Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NGK) is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

(the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa) and the South African churches was held in Rustenburg. During this conference, professor Willie Jonker of the University of Stellenbosch made this confession on behalf of the entire DRC:

" confess before you and before the Lord, not only my own sin and guilt, and my personal responsibility for the political, social, economic and structural wrongs that have been done to many of you and the results
rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
which you and our whole country are still suffering, but vicariously I dare also to do that in the name of the NGK he white DRC of which I am a member, and for the Afrikaans people as a whole."

The conference finally resulted in the signing of the Rustenburg Declaration, which moved strongly toward complete confession, forgiveness, and restitution.

Climate

Rustenburg has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cwa''), with a relatively high degree of

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...

due to the high elevation. It has very warm summers (from December to February) and mild winters (from June to August). Due to the altitude, summers are not quite as hot as one might expect. Precipitation occurs mainly in summer. There is occasional frost at night in winter.

Demographics 2011

* Area: * Population: 549,575 * Households: 335,776 *3.5% growth

Tourist hub

The city is located on major highway routes and close to 2 major centres, making it a hub for tourist activities. Within the city are some historic churches and Mosque, including the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

(1871), the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

(1898–1903) and the Zinniaville Jamme Mosque in Zinniaville, the historic statue of the Voortrekker girl and the Rustenburg Museum. There are many Shopping centers which bring in an influx of people from around Rustenburg such as Waterfall mall, Rustenburg mall, Sun Central, Greystone Crossing and Platinum square where one can go shopping and dining. Rustenburg has much to entertain which include Golf Courses, hot Air ballooning, mountain climbing, hiking, the famous Ten Flags Theme park and much more. Rustenburg is also close to Magaliesburg which offers a number of restaurants and outdoor activities.

Communities and battlefields

There are several sites of cultural and historical significance in and around Rustenburg. Some of these related to the indigenous Bafokeng, Bakgatla and Botswana tribes, whose totemic tribal traditions are of interest. There is also the German community of Kroondal that traces its origins back to 1857. A number of Anglo-Boer and ethnic war battles took place in the area with the districts of Koster,

Swartruggens Swartruggens is a small farming town in North West Province, South Africa that was established in 1875. Location The town is located by the Elands River, 69 km from the town of Zeerust, 56 km west of the city of Rustenburg and 34 ...

and Rustenburg featuring battlefields, memorial graves and ruined forts. The area also has archaeological remains from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

and

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

Nature reserves

Key attractions in this area include the nature reserves around Rustenburg. This includes: * Kgaswane Nature Reserve is situated above the town of Rustenburg, In Waterfall Park, Cashan across a varied habitat of quartzite mountain peaks, it is open to hikers as well as vehicle visitors. It is a 4,257 ha reserve. *

Madikwe Game Reserve The Madikwe Game Reserve is a protected area in South Africa, part of the latest park developments in the country. Named after the Madikwe or Marico River, on whose basin it is located, it was opened in 1991 and comprises 750 km² of bushland ...

and Groot Marico Park are large reserves north of the Pilanesberg, almost half the size of Belgium. They are conservation and transition zone between the

Kalahari The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...

sandveld and the thornveld. Madikwe hosts all the major plains species, including the Big Five and has the second largest concentration of elephants in South Africa. *

Pilanesberg Game Reserve The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa. The park borders on the Sun City entertainment complex. It is currently administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board. The area ...

is one of the most accessible South African game reserves. It is located a 1.5-hour drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria, outside Rustenburg. It is the fourth largest National Park in South Africa and is set in the Pilanesberg range, traversing the floor of a long-extinct volcano. Pilanesberg conserves all the major mammal species including lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.

Holiday destination

''Sun City'' and ''the'' ''Lost City'' resorts located within the crater of the dormant volcano which the Pilanesberg Game Reserve lies above. The complex is set on the slopes of a valley in the Pilanesberg Mountains. Sun City is a world renown destination by Sun International and remains one of the best resorts in Southern Africa. Tourist amenities include a shopping mall, casinos, the 'Valley of the Waves' and two championship golf courses. Protea hotel hunters rest borders the Kgaswane Nature reserve. Just 5 km from

Waterfall mall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

. There are many amenities at this resort including, hiking, swimming, golf, horse riding, and game drives. Shopping Waterfall Mall nestled in Waterfall Park of Cashan in Rustenburg. Offers indoor shopping with just around 200 shops to visit. Platinum Square, Lifestyle Square, Rustenburg Square are all owned by a single company located within Rustenburg. These Shopping locations are central to different areas of the city and all offer anchor Supermarkets and a variety of other shops. Boitekong Mall . Waterfall Mall, Phokeng Mall, Tlhabane Square- located in Tlhabane, Rustenburg Mall, Moruleng mall, Suncity village shopping centre, Dining and Restaurants in Rustenburg Rustenburg has many unique and multi cultural Restaurants and coffee shops. Mochachos Waterfall East located at the Greystone shopping centre just off the R24 Route is well known for their service and mouth watering Mexican cuisine. Rustenburg boasts a number of entertaining Pub & Grills one of which is '4Shots Pub & Grill' known for Mouth watering pub lunches and family friendly entertainment, situated in van Belkum street East End

Sport

*Rustenburg was one of the host cities of the

with the 42,000-seat

. *Professional Football Clubs: Platinum Stars *Rustenburg is home to another world-class stadium,

Olympia Park Olympia Park Stadion is a multi-purpose stadium located in Rustenburg, South Africa. Not to be confused with the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where the 2010 FIFA World Cup games were played, it is currently used mostly for football and rugby match ...

. It hosted some of the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

games. *Rustenburg Judo Club is one of the strongest clubs in South Africa, dominating the provincial team of North West Province and winning the most medals of any single club in South Africa in SA National Championships over the last 15 years. *Rustenburg Skydiving Club – a popular skydiving facility for sports

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

and

parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

tandem skydiving Tandem skydiving or tandem parachuting refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected to an instructor via a harness. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy ...

Accelerated Freefall {{unreferenced, date=December 2016 Accelerated freefall (AFF) (known in Canada as progressive freefall, and in Finland as Nova (''NO''peutettu ''VA''paapudotus, a literal translation)) is a method of skydiving training. This method of skydiving tr ...

(AFF) and

static line A static line is a fixed cord attached to a large, stable object. It is used to open parachutes automatically for paratroopers and novice parachutists. Design and use A static line is a cord attached at one end to the aircraft and at the oth ...

courses. *The Gary Player Country Club, located in nearby Sun City, hosts the annual

Nedbank Golf Challenge The Nedbank Golf Challenge, previously known as the Million Dollar Challenge, is an annual men's professional golf tournament played at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, North West province, South Africa. It was first played in 1981 and ...

, a round of the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

. *Rustenburg Golf Club which is located in the heart of the city has had a major renovation since it was leased to MH Tayob in 2017. The golf club has improved its revenue tremendously by improving its Courses and adding many other amenities such as, Park run, Put Put, Indoor trampoline park, many restaurants and a 4 star event and conference centre. *Rustenburg is home to 2 swimming clubs, Otters Rustenburg and Rustenburg Swimming Club. *Impala Cricket Club is a Cricket sports ground located next to Olympia Park Stadion

Development

Rustenburg is home to the two largest

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

mines in the world and the world's largest platinum refinery, PM

(Precious Metal Refiners), which processes around 70% of the world's platinum. As a result of the mining activity in this mineral-rich area, there is also an increased focus on social development. Rustenburg is one of only 5 South African cities to have a community foundation, called the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation (GRCF), that seeks to ensure the regional development reaches all levels of society.

Transformation of Rustenburg into a Smart City

Rustenburg has been highly dependent on

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

which is responsible for more than 65% of local

and 50% of all direct jobs. The secondary

contributors are, by a considerable margin, finance (9%) and retail (8%). Since

mining is projected to decline after 2040, the

Rustenburg Local Municipality Rustenburg Local Municipality is a local municipality in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. Rustenburg City is situated at the foot of the Magalies mountain range in the North West province of South Afri ...

formulated the Rustenburg Vision 2040 in 2014, with the goal of becoming a world-class green, efficient, sustainable and intricately interconnected

Smart City A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return ...

where all communities enjoy a high quality of life. This includes the redevelopment and rejuvenation of existing CBD areas to new world-class commercial centres with a conspicuous signature skyline incorporating a plethora of high-rise landmark buildings and

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

s as part of the smart space planning and smart maximization of land usage that sustainably creates breathing room for people to move, live, work and play.

Rustenburg Rapid Transport Project (RRT)

As at the end of the 2017/18 financial year, the Rustenburg Metropolitan had spent about R2.7 billion on the upgrading of old and the construction of new public transport infrastructure in and around the city. The infrastructure includes of bi-directional

Transitway Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT)

Bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

lanes, walk ways and 17 Sub-stations. After completion, 37 safe and clean enclosed stations on the trunk lines stations will be fully operational along of road using at least 100 articulated buses to transport passengers along the main corridors. On completion of Phase 1 of the 4 phase project, the RRT is projected to deliver 225 000 passenger trips a day through 13 routes, 240 bus stops and 15 BRT stations using around 268 buses. While

is one of the components of the RRT system design, it will not be an exclusively BRT driven operation. The routes have been planned to integrate with bus routes servicing townships, suburbs and outlying village areas as well as long-distance bus services, which will work in unison to move people around the city and region.

Transport

Rustenburg Airfield (FARG), situated in the middle part of the city, is the

Airfield, licensed according to

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

standards. Rustenburg SkyDiving Club operates every weekend year round from the airfield. It currently has a 1225m long and 15m runway and serves small planes for skydiving and parachuting. As part of Rustenburg's Aerodrome Master Plan, the Airfield will receive an upgrade.

Pilanesberg International Airport Pilanesberg International Airport is an airport serving Sun City in the North West province of South Africa. It is located adjacent to the Pilanesberg National Park. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. I ...

(NTY), located at to the North of RLM, is an airport serving Sun City in the

. It is located close to the

and mainly serves tourists visiting the Sun City resort. It has a 2750m long and 30m wide runway and handles about 8000 passengers per year. The other nearest international airport to Rustenburg situated south-easterly is the O. R. Tambo International Airport which is located to the east of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. Currently, international travelers to Rustenburg come predominantly via the

O.R. Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second ...

. Two interprovincial rail lines traverse Rustenburg. One is in the middle part of Rustenburg connecting Rustenburg eastwards to Brits and northwards to

Thabazimbi Thabazimbi is an iron mining town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town is at the feet of the Ysterberg and is surrounded by the Witfonteinrand and Boshofberg with the majestic Kransberg in the background. The name Thabazimbi mean ...

, the other rail line runs through the eastern part of Rustenburg connecting it south-easterly to

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

and south-westerly to Koster. There is a possibility of upgrading the existing Rustenburg Railway network to better cater to passengers as part of the city's revitalization. Previously, the railway lines served long-distance passengers, but are now only used for transporting

and chrome concentrates to smelters. The Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT)

network will incorporate (half bi-directional) transport networks, walk ways and 17 sub-stations with and over 260 buses.

Education

Schools in Rustenburg include: * Boikagong Secondary School * skete * Abana primary school * Bergsig Akademie/Academy * Die Hoërskool Rustenburg * HS Grenswag * Zinniaville Secondary School * Rustenburg Technical High School * Grenville High School * Rauwane Sepeng * Fields College * Selly Park Convent Primary School * Selly Park Secondary School * Geelhout Park High School * H.F Tlou High School * President Mangope Technical and Commercial High School * Tlhabane Technical and Commercial High School * Bafokeng High School * Grenswag HS * Lebone II College * Rustenburg Educational College * Kele Secondary School * Meridian Private School * J M Ntsime High School * Keledi High School * Vastrap primary * Proteapark primary * Deo Gloria Christian Academy * Karlienpark Primary School * Khayalethu Secondary School * Bothibello Primary School * Nur-ul-Iman Muslim School * Itumeleng Secondary School * Tswaidi High School * Mmanape High School *Motladi Kgoadi Goadi Primary School *Bosabosele Primary School *Nkukise Primary School *Matale Secondary School Higher education & further education colleges include: * University of South Africa Rustenburg Hub (UNISA) * Platinum College * Rock of Springs Technical College * Boston City Campus * Global Tech College * Multi-Tech College * Keobakile Nursing Academy * MSC Business College * Damelin Rustenburg * ORBIT College Rustenburg * Centurion Akademie * Brooklyn City College Rustenburg * Advisor Progressive College Rustenburg Other Tertiary Education Institutions close to Rustenburg: *

North-West University af , Noordwes-Universiteit , image = https://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/NWU-Logo-SW.png , motto = ''Dit Begin Alles Hier (Afrikaans)'' ''Gotlhe Go Simolola Fano (Setswana)'' , mottoeng ...

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West an ...

* University of South Africa Main Campus *

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) is a university in Pretoria North, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Its current incarnation was formed on 1 January 2015. Previously it was known as ''Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA)' ...

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the ...

Notable people

Famous people with roots in Rustenburg include: * Rory Alec – Christian broadcaster * Johan Botha – opera singer *

Pik Botha Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, (27 April 1932 – 12 October 2018) was a South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, the longest-serving in South African history. Known as a libe ...

– politician and foreign minister (1977–1994) *

Bettie Cilliers-Barnard Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, DMS (18 November 1914 – 15 September 2010) was a South African abstract artist, generally known for her large canvases of birds in flight. She was also the mother of well-known South African actress, Jana Cilliers ...

– painter *

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tran ...

– ballet choreographer *

Rocky Malebana-Metsing ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky franchise, ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weather ...

– politician and human rights activist * Koos du Plessis – singer-songwriter *

Frik du Preez Frederik Christoffel Hendrik "Frik" du Preez (born 28 November 1935) is a former South African rugby union player who represented Northern Transvaal and the Springboks. He was born on a farm near Rustenburg and went to school at Parys High Schoo ...

– rugby union player *

John Smit John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a former South African rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the South Africa national team, and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World C ...

– Springbok rugby captain * Andre Stander – bank robber *

Esta TerBlanche Esta TerBlanche (born 7 January 1973) is a South African actress, best known for her roles on television soap operas in both South Africa and the United States. Early life TerBlanche was born in Rustenburg, North West Province. She is of Hugue ...

– actress *

Sunette Viljoen Sunette Stella Viljoen (born 6 October 1983) is a South African sportswoman who has represented her country in both cricket and athletics. In athletics, she competes as a javelin thrower and has won an Olympic silver medal ( in 2016) and two Co ...

– javelin thrower *

Denise Zimba Denise Zimba (born 10 November 1988) is a South African actress, singer, dancer and presenter, most known for her role as Mary Gumede in the soap opera '' Generations: The Legacy''. She also joined Vuzu Vuzu was a South African youth-oriented ...

– television presenter (V Entertainment) *

Renske Stoltz Renske Stoltz is a South African netball player. Early life Stoltz was born in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga before shifting with her family to Rustenburg, North West (South African province), North West. She has played netball for the past seventeen ...

– netball player (for South Africa since 2015) *

Dwaine Pretorius Dwaine Pretorius (born 29 March 1989) is a former South African international cricketer who currently plays in various T20 leagues around the globe and for North West in domestic cricket as a bowling all-rounder. He announced his retirement from ...

– cricket player (for South Africa since 2016) *

Gerhard Mostert Gerhard Mostert is a professional rugby union player who played for Stade Français in the Top 14. He was schooled at Die Hoërskool Rustenburg. Mostert made his provisional debut for the in 2010, and played for the Sharks against the Chiefs ...

– former Springbok player. He is Wessel's Mostert's older brother

References

External links

Rustenburg Local MunicipalityRusties - Businesses, Events, Jobs, Specials, etc.
{{Authority control Populated places in the Rustenburg Local Municipality Populated places established in 1851 1851 establishments in Africa Smart cities