Allanridge is a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

-mining town in the

Lejweleputswa District Municipality The Lejweleputswa District Municipality (; ; ) is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The seat of the municipality is Welkom. As of 2011, a majority of its 657,019 residents speak Sotho. The district code is DC18. ...

of the Free State province in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is the main centre of the Loraine Gold Mining Company and is dominated by the tall headgear and complex reduction works that processes thousands of tons of

-bearing ore every month. Allanridge established as a settlement in the Free State goldfields in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and was named after Allan Roberts whose borehole's proximity to the gold-bearing reef was the precursor to the mining in the area. The town layout was designed by town planner William Backhouse, who also planned

Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...

, the second-largest city in the Free State province. It became a municipality on 21 December 1956 but this changed on the 5 December 2000 when it was incorporated into the

Matjhabeng Local Municipality Matjhabeng Municipality (; ; ) is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. The municipality includes Welkom, Virginia, Odendaalsrus and Allanridge. ''Matjhabeng'' is a Seso ...

with the city of Welkom and the towns of

Hennenman Hennenman is a town in the Free State Goldfields in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State province of South Africa. The settlement is unusual for the district being supported by agriculture rather than the mining industry wh ...

Odendaalsrus Odendaalsrus is the oldest gold mining town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality in the goldfields of the Free State province in South Africa. History It started out in 1912 as a ramshackle collection of farms and a central church that b ...

Ventersburg Ventersburg is a small town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa, 148 km north of Bloemfontein. History It was established on the farm Kromfontein which was owned by PA ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The Phathakahle township is 3 km outside of Allanridge. It was established during the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era to house the mine workers of the Loraine Gold Mining Company. It also have three primary Schools (S.A Mokhothu, Dihwai and Tshireletso ) and two high schools . The first part of Nyakallong was (skomplas).

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality Populated places established in 1947 Mining communities in South Africa 1947 establishments in South Africa