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Virginia, town in central South Africa, in central Free State Province, 140 km (90 mi) northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Virginia lies along the banks of the Sand River. The town is close to some of the largest gold fields in Free State, and its economy is dominated by mining, gold-extraction plants, and the manufacture of sulfuric acid from gold ore. Commercial farms in the surrounding area primarily grow maize (corn) and raise livestock. Virginia is located on the main rail line between Bloemfontein and Johannesburg. Virginia was founded in 1854 after gold was discovered in the region. Virginia is a Gold mining town located in the north east part of the Free State Province of South Africa . It has an approximate population of 90,000 people. It is also known for having the deepest pipe-mine into the earth on the planet. The town is surrounded by mine shafts and vast open plains of agricultural farms. It is also visited by severe thunder storms almost every summer's day. It boasts the place where the ring was made that was featured in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy . Harmony is a mine located in Virginia District, Free State, South Africa. It is active in the following commodities : Gold.The Harmony mine is owned by Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd. In 1890 , two Railway surveyors from the state of Virginia in the United States etched the name of their birthplace on a boulder near the farm Merriespruit. When a railway siding was eventually established at this spot, the name was adopted, and it stuck after the discovery of gold in 1955 which resulted in a mushrooming settlement on the banks of the Sand River. In 1988 the river burst its banks and flooded parts of the town. In 1994 a slime dam burst sending a ten metre wave of mud through one of the suburbs, killing 11 people and marking a great turnaround in mining politics in South Africa. |
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