City of Matlosana is a local municipality in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, North West province, built around the Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein-Hartbeesfontein goldfield — one of South Africa’s oldest and deepest gold-mining complexes. The 2022 census counted 431,231 people over 3,602 km², seated at Klerksdorp.
Towns and Villages in City of Matlosana
Klerksdorp, the seat, and the smaller gold-mining towns of Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein form the municipality’s urban core, with mining townships such as Jouberton, Khuma and Kanana housing much of the workforce.
| Place | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Klerksdorp | Seat | 227,039 |
| Orkney | Town | 110,052 |
| Stilfontein | Town | 93,110 |
| Hartbeesfontein | Town | 22,294 |
| Umzimhle | Township | 7,352 |
| Jouberton | Township | — |
| Khuma | Township | — |
| Kanana | Township | — |
Other settlements:
- Alabama
- Ariston
- Boetrand
- Buffelsfontein
- Dominionville
- Dupperspos
- Erma
- Hartebeesfontein
- Meiringspark
- Neserhof
- Opraap
- Reebokfontein Wes
- Rykaartspos
- Sakhrol
- Springvale
- Syferkuil
- Tigane
- Vaal Reefs
- Wilkoppies
- Witfontein
Geography
The Schoonspruit and Vaal rivers run through the municipality, feeding both the historic gold-processing plants and present-day irrigation on its farming margins.
Matlosana sits on the Vaal River goldfields in south-eastern North West, bordering Free State province across the Vaal River and JB Marks within Dr Kenneth Kaunda District. The land is flat highveld grassland, shaped by decades of gold-mining infrastructure — headgears, tailings dams and mine villages spread across the municipal area.
Klerksdorp is one of South Africa’s oldest towns, founded in 1837 by Voortrekkers, well before gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand. Gold mining arrived later, from the 1930s, when the Vaal Reefs and neighbouring reefs were identified as westward extensions of the main Witwatersrand goldfield — turning Klerksdorp, Orkney and Stilfontein into full mining towns within a generation.
Demographics
Population grew from 398,676 in 2011 to 431,231 in 2022. Klerksdorp is the largest single town, with Orkney and Stilfontein — both former stand-alone gold-mining towns — making up much of the rest of the municipal population.
Economy and Local Life
Local agriculture, particularly maize and livestock farming on the municipality’s rural fringes, remains a secondary but steady employer alongside mining and retail.
Gold mining has driven Matlosana’s economy for over a century, centred on the Vaal Reefs, Hartebeestfontein and Stilfontein mine complexes, once among the deepest gold mines in the world. Klerksdorp also serves as a regional retail, agricultural-trading and administrative hub for the wider goldfields, with a diversifying services sector as some mines have scaled back.
Jouberton, Khuma and Kanana, Matlosana’s largest townships, developed to house black mineworkers barred from living in Klerksdorp, Stilfontein and Orkney proper under apartheid-era planning, and remain the residential base for much of the mining and municipal workforce today.
Getting There
The N12 highway links Klerksdorp to Johannesburg (about 160 km north-east) and Kimberley to the south-west. Klerksdorp Airport serves light aircraft; OR Tambo International near Johannesburg is the nearest major airport.
Klerksdorp itself functions as the shopping, healthcare and administrative centre for the whole Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, not just Matlosana — its hospitals and malls draw residents from as far as Maquassi Hills and JB Marks. Vaal Reefs, once the deepest gold mine on earth, remains one of the area’s best-known mining names even as output has declined from its 20th-century peak.
FAQ
Why is it called “City of Matlosana”?
Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein were merged into one municipality under the Setswana name Matlosana, meaning roughly “place of continuity”, reflecting the four towns’ shared goldfield history.
What is the seat of City of Matlosana?
Klerksdorp.
What is Matlosana’s population?
431,231 at the 2022 census, up from 398,676 in 2011.
Which district is Matlosana in?
Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, North West province.
What is the main industry?
Gold mining, centred on Klerksdorp, Orkney and Stilfontein.
What are Matlosana’s main towns?
Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein, listed above with the surrounding townships and farm settlements.