Torbanite - 'n dorp te koop.

Abstract

• Opsomming: In 1893 het J.J. Janecke olieskalie (torbaniet) op sy plaas Mooifontein tussen Ermelo en Breyten ontdek. 'n Volgende eienaar, ene Stanford, het een ton torbaniet na Skotland gestuur waaruit 190 liter olie gedistilleer is. In 1934 is die South African Torbanite Mining and Refining Company Ltd. (SATMAR) gestig om olie uit torbaniet te ontgin en in 1936 het die eerste Satmar-petroleum op die mark verskyn. Die maatskappy se bedrywighede het in die daaropvolgende jare steeds uitgebrei en dit was 'n groot ekonomiese bate vir die gebied. Teen 1960 was die ekonomies ontginbare torbaniet uitgeput en die mynbedrywighede is gestaak. Die dorpie Torbanite wat by die myn aangelê was, is aanvanklik te koop aangebied, maar toe niemand belangstelling getoon het nie, is dit gesloop.

• Summary: In 1893 J.J. Janecke discovered cannel coal (torbanite) on his farm Mooifontein between Ermelo and Breyten. A subsequent owner named Stanford shipped one ton of torbanite to Scotland where 190 litres of oil was distilled from it. In 1934 the South African Torbanite Mining Company Ltd. (SA TMAR) was established to extract oil from torbanite and in 1936 the first Satmar petroleum reached the market. In the years that followed the company expanded rapidly and became of great economic importance to the area, but by 1960 the economic exploitable torbanite gave out and mining was stopped. Torbanite, the town established at the mine, was for sale but as nobody was interested in buying it, it was eventually demolished.