Name: Witbank
Witbank is situated on the highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga.[1][2][3] The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested. Witbank is in the coal mining area with 22 collieries in an area no more than 40 km in any direction. There are a number of power stations (such as the Duvha Power Station), as well as a steel mill, Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation, nearby which all require coal. The farm land surrounding Witbank and nearby Middelburg is fast being eaten up by coal mines which are a blight on the horizon[citation needed]. With the increase in mining activity pollution has become a major problem with many wetlands, streams and rivers now clogged with coal dust.
On 3 March 2006[4], Witbank was officially renamed eMalahleni, meaning "place of coal"[5] matching the name of the municipality that contains it.
Witbank was established in 1890 and early attempts to exploit the coal deposits failed until the railway from Pretoria reached the area in 1894. It was proclaimed a town in 1903 and became a municipality in 1914 .
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