Sinkhole crisis: Mogale City's Dolomitic ground claims major roads

AS GAPING sinkholes tear through parts of Mogale City, residents lives hang in the balance.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

Major provincial routes, the Hekpoort R563 and Zwartkops R374, are crumbling beneath them, turning daily commutes into a deadly gamble.

The Star met with a Geologist Chulumanco Koti who explained that the area along the western edge of Gauteng Province, including Hekpoort, sits on rock formations belonging to the Transvaal Supergroup, specifically the Malmani Subgroup of the Chuniespoort Group.

Koti described sinkholes as the "sudden or catastrophic collapse of the Earth's surface, often leaving a circular hole in the ground." She added that they are broadly classified into karst-related and anthropogenic sinkholes.

"Karst sinkholes form when the underlying carbonate rock dissolves over time, creating voids beneath the surface. The overlying material gradually settles, and sometimes this settling happens instantly, forming a sudden hole. Rainwater seeping through cracks accelerates this process," Koti explained.