South-African oil-from-coal industry. The highest structure in Secunda is the 301-metre-high chimney at the Sasol Three plant. The chimney is an Eskom type chimney comprising four refractory brick-lined concrete fluor of 4.6-metre diameter each. The windshield is 292 metres high with an internal diameter of 26 metres. The chimney was constructed by Concor as part of a contract to construct the Sasol Three steamplant with Hochtief. The foundations of the chimney comprised vertical and raked piles. This chimney is one of the tallest free-standing structures in the Southern Hemisphere. Topography Secunda is situated on the latitude 26° and longitude 29° and is 1,620 meters above sea level. It is 180 kilometers from Pretoria, 135 kilometers from Johannesburg, 100 km from Brakpan, 250 km from Potchefstroom, 530km from Durban and 1530km from Cape Town. Climate During the summer, Secunda has a very pleasant climate with an average temperature of 26.5 °C. During the winter, the nights are cold, and frost regularly occurs, whereas temperatures can go as low as -10'C at low lying areas in extreme cases. The days are dry, sunny and warm with an average day temperature of 16.2 °C. Demographics The town has approximately 40,198 inhabitants, with an estimated 118,889 people living in nearby township, named eMbalenhle - meaning "pretty flower". The town has experienced significant growth in the 1990's and early 2000's due to the expansions underway at the Sasol complexes. Economy Industry Secunda has the 1973 oil crisis to thank for its existence, as it was founded to make South Africa less dependent on the importation of crude oil. It is doubtful whether an industry such as Sasol Synfuels ever formed part of the plans when Sasol One was formed in the 1950s. Sasol Two (1 March 1980) and Sasol Three (10 May 1982), known as Secunda CTL, the largest coal liquefaction plant in the world, produces synthetic fuel, diesel, and related fuels and petrochemicals from coal gasification. Secunda Synfuels Operations, a division of Sasol South Africa Limited (previously known as Sasol Two and Sasol Three) are large industrial refineries, within view, and sometimes earshot, of the town of Secunda. Mining As coal is the main ingredient for the industrial process, Sasol Two had to be developed around a coalfield. The four coal mines, namely Brandspruit, Middelbult, Bosjesspruit, and Twistdraai, form the largest underground coal mining complex in South Africa and annually supply approximately 37,3 million