Sasolburg

Town in Free State, South Africa, 80 km/50 mi south of Johannesburg; population (district, 1991) 89,100. Industries include coal mining and chemical production from coal.

Sasolburg was the site of the first petrochemical plant in South Africa, and was, in the early 1970s, the largest plant for the extraction of oil from coal in the world. Oil production ceased in the early 1980s, with production now concentrating on gas, ammonia, wax, solvents, and other chemicals. The plant processes 6.5 million tonnes of coal per annum.