Anglo American built an entire city in the middle of nowhere

• Yes, Anglo American built an entire city in the middle of nowhere, specifically the city of Welkom in the Free State of South Africa, to house mineworkers attracted to the area by the discovery of gold.
• The city of Welkom was the result of a large private capital investment by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer and his Anglo American Corporation, which was initially seen as a 'bet' due to the lack of observable gold in the area.
• The construction of Welkom led to the creation of thousands of new jobs, and the city was declared a town in 1948, marking a significant milestone in the development of the region's gold mining industry.