Vereeniging is an industrial city in southern Gauteng with a population of about half a million people. It is one of South Africa's most important manufacturing centres, producing iron, pipes, bricks, steel, tiles and processed lime. Vereeniging was established in 1892 along the banks of the Vaal river after the discovery of coal in the region. Several coal mines, as well as those producing gold, exist to this day in the vacinity. There are also several thermal power stations in Vereeniging to supply the mines with energy.
The treaty ending the Anglo-Boer War, a conflict at the turn of the century between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers or "Boers", was negotiated in Vereeniging in 1902. The British established a concentration camp in the city to house Boer men, women and children.