| Marikana (Maretlwane) | |
| Native Name: | Rooikoppies |
| Other Name: | Koppies |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa North West#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -25.698°N 27.472°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North West |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Bojanala Platinum |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Rustenburg |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 17.54 |
| Population Total: | 19522 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 98.3% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.1% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.5% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 0.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.2% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Tswana |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 30.0% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 29.7% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Tsonga |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 18.1% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 14.4% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 7.9% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 0284 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 0284 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 014 |
Marikana, also known as Rooikoppies, is a town in the Rustenburg Local Municipality, Bojanala Platinum District Municipality in the North West province of South Africa.
The name Rooikoppies means 'red hills' in Afrikaans.
Neighbouring localities include Marikana train station (1 km; 0.62 mi to the north-east), Wonderkop (4 km; 2.5 mi), Ramala, Rietfontein, Rustenburg (29 km; 18 mi); Swaershoek (30 km; 19 mi); Mooinooi (31 km; 19 mi); Brits (36 km; 22 mi); Monakato (38 km; 24 mi); Hartbeespoort (43 km; 27 mi); Kosmos (48 km; 30 mi).[2]
The town was laid out in 1870 on the farm Rooikoppies, and the settlement later expanded into seven white-owned farms. In 1933, the Buffelspoort Dam was built, allowing the local farmers to irrigate their crops.[3]
The farming community grew in the 1960s on the back of lucrative tobacco farming, but other diversified farming practices i.e. cattle, maize, chillies, paprika, soya, lusern and sunflower amongst the main groups was the main economic driver of the area. In the 1970s mining was introduced and grew to become the main industry in the region. The main mining activities are PGMs and chrome. Since the introduction of mining activities, the informal and formal population had a growth explosion.
The Marikana massacre of 16 August 2012 and the subsequent killing of 34 workers by police made headlines in the international media.[4]