Company Town

Carletonville, Merafong Municipality

Company towns are residential complexes that come fit with the basic services, developed by the mining company and adjacent to the sources of extraction. There are several types, for the black workers they are called compounds or hostels, are unisex, gated and are located within the mining premises. For the white or mixed race workers better quality residences are provided outside of the premises and are ungated. Carletonville was selected as a case study for being the area with the deepest gold mines in the World, with up to six different mining companies operating independently, of which many remain active today. Around the area, multiple other types of settlements have surfaced to support the industry, and provide more modern forms of housing, such as the townships (Khutsong and Wadeville) and gated communities. In 2013, the mining company of Blyvooruitzicht closed operations and left the settlements around it that depended on their electricity, water, security and maintenance services, vulnerable. This led to the growth of informal settlements and criminal activity in the area, until 2020, when operations resumed.