Stilfontein is a mining town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 with 96,242 inhabitants, situated between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom in North West Province of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

Stilfontein was established in 1949 as a residential centre for three large gold mines, the Hartebeesfontein, Buffelsfontein and Stilfontein mines.

Stilfontein was struck by a mining-related earthquake in 9 March 2005, which damaged buildings in the town, which was followed by the closure of the Hartebeesfontein and Buffelsfontein when the Stilfontein Gold Mining was handed over into liquidation. The Simmer and Jack Mines took over the mines but disaster struck again on the 23 March 2006 when a fire trapped 8 miners underground at the Buffelsfontein mine.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census, the population of Stilfontein was 14,708. The racial distribution was as follows: 84.9% White, 14.2% Black, 0.8% Coloured and 0.1% Asian. The population density was 1,717 persons per km² (663 persons per mi²). The white population is very likely to have been undercounted, a common problem with the 2001 census.