013 is the area code for Witbank and a large portion of Mpumalanga. Witbank is a large coal-mining town in Mpumalanga. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested. “Witbank” is also colloquially known as eMalahleni which means “place of coal”.
Witbank is a large coal-mining town in Mpumalanga.
Witbank is a large coal-mining town in Mpumalanga. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested.
The Great Brak River flows through the area, which lies on the Witwatersrand ridge of the Transvaal basin. It was founded in 1882 by Thomas Henry Nevin along with John Campbell, who built the first coal mine here at what was then known as Pering Shafts. The town grew quickly, taking off when gold was discovered nearby at Lydenburg in 1886 and then again during World War I when it became a major coal-exporting centre due to its proximity to ports on Delagoa Bay (now Maputo).
