SPRINGS

town, Gauteng province, South Africa. It lies in the Witwatersrand, just east of Johannesburg, at an elevation of 5,338 feet (1,627 m). Founded as a coal-mining camp in 1885, it was sustained by the mining of gold beginning in 1908 and was incorporated in 1912. It became the largest single gold-producing area in the world by about the mid-20th century. Manufacturing (including paper, foodstuffs, and cosmetics) has now replaced gold mining as the main economic activity. Pop. (1985) 68,235.