| Brits | |
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Brits
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | North West Province |
| District | |
| Population | |
| • Total | 127,000 |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
Brits is a large town and district situated in a fertile, citrus, vegetable and grain-producing area that is irrigated by the waters of the Hartbeespoort Dam in North West Province of South Africa. It is close to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, which includes Pretoria and it has the same dialling code as Pretoria. In addition to being a centre for agriculture, the town is home to several heavy industries, it is worth mentioning the presence of a factory of the Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo that produced cars for the domestic market and export to Asia from 1974 to 1985. The town also plays an important role in the South African mining industry: 94% of South Africa's platinum comes from the Rustenburg and Brits districts, which together produce more platinum than any other single area in the world. In addition, there is a large vanadium mine in the district.
The Indian area in Brits is called Primindia. Brits is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality. Brits was linked to the Pretoria by the N4 Platinum Bakwena Toll Road in the early 2000s, which significantly cut travel time between Brits and the major cities of Gauteng.
As of 2006[update], Brits was experiencing a development boom, because of increased mining activity in the region.[1]
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Brits was founded in 1924 on the farm Roode Kopjes (Red Hills) and was named after the owner, Johannes Nicolaas Brits. The armistice treaty for the Transvaal civil war was signed in 1864 beneath a karee tree just to the south of Brits. A speech by General Hertzog in 1912 at the nearby De Wildt railway station led to the formation of the National Party.
The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre, renowned for its success in breeding and studying cheetah, king cheetah, brown hyena, suni, blue duiker and wild dogs is situated in the small town of De Wildt, just east of Brits.
Brits is also the birthplace of the first cloned animal in Africa, a cow.[2]