TOURIST INFORMATION
Environment & Tourism Department
Tel: 011 456 0112
Fax: 011 456 0114
Website: www.ekurhuleni.co.za
(Including Tsakane)
The name Brakpan means 'brackish water' and refers to the pan of water on the outskirts of the town. However, the town's real claim to fame is 'Superdump', the highest mine dump in the world, which towers 357 feet above the town on the Johannesburg/Witwatersrand skyline. This dump has the distinction of being higher than any of the pyramids in Egypt except the Great Pyramid of Cheops. In the first half of the twentieth century, Brakpan was granted municipal status and the town prospered as a gold and coal mining centre. Today it uses sophisticated technologies to extract gold and uranium ore from old mine dumps. The town also has a diversified industrial base.
