Durnacol is a small suburban town in the central part of the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa.
Durnacol falls within the Dannhauser Local Municipality, which is part of the Amajuba District Municipality.
The name is an acronym for Durban Navigation Collieries, a mine that was opened at the turn of the 20th century. The mine mainly produced coking coal for the shipping industries, but later the coal was used in the smelting of iron.
At the height of the mine’s activity, almost 5,000 people worked there. The mine ceased production activities in 2000. At present, the area of the mine property is being rehabilitated and is being managed by the local municipality. Many of the mining company’s houses have been sold to individual owners.
A methane explosion at Durban Navigation Colliery on 8 October 1926 killed 124 miners. It is the worst mine explosion in South Africa’s history.
