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Phalaborwa
Phalaborwa
	The entrance sign to Phalaborwa
	Phalaborwa Phalaborwa
	Coordinates: 23°56′S 31°7′E / 23.933°S 31.117°E
Country	South Africa
Province	Limpopo
District	Mopani
Municipality	Ba-Phalaborwa
Area
• Total	193.33 km2 (74.65 sq mi)
Elevation	437 m (1,434 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	13,108
• Density	68/km2 (180/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	40%
• Coloured	1.9%
• Indian/Asian	1.5%
• White	56%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	50.98%
• English	15.07%
• Tsonga	11.11%
• Northern Sotho	10.83%
• Other	12.01%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	1389
PO box	1390
Area code	015
Website	Phalaborwa trade and tourism

Phalaborwa (translated to English as better than the south; phala means better than and borwa means south) is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa.

Name

The name "Ba-Phalaborwa" was given to the area by the Sotho tribes who moved there from the south. It means "better than the south".

History

The Sotho mined and smelted copper and iron ore there by 400 AD.

Geography

It is located near the confluence of the Ga-Selati River and the Olifants, halfway up along the western border of the Kruger National Park in the Lowveld.

It is the only town in South Africa that borders Kruger National Park. The border with Mozambique is two hours away. Various private game reserves nearly surround Phalaborwa. Hans Merensky Golf Estate is situated on the outskirts.^[2]

Nearby natural attractions are Blyde River Canyon, the Three Rondavels, God's Window and Bourke's Luck Potholes; the Tzaneen fruit farms and Hoedspruit game farms can all be visited within a day.

Masorini, near Phalaborwa gate, is a reconstructed Ba-Phalaborwa hill village, with huts, grain storage areas, and an iron smelting site.

Two townships, Namakgale and Lulekani are where the Pedi and Tsonga reside. Rural areas such as Mashishimale, Humulani, Kurhula (Matshama Hi Nkano), Ben Farm (Majeje), Makushane and Ga-Maseke.Ga-selwane.majeje 3 and prieska are there.

Economy

Mining

Phalaborwa is home to Palabora Mining. The massive open pit mine, nearly 2,000 meters across, is Africa's widest manmade hole. Founded in 1951, Foskor's Mining Division in Phalaborwa mines phosphate rock (foskorite and pyroxenite), from which Foskor's Acid Division in Richards Bay produces phosphoric acid and phosphate-based granular fertilisers for local and international markets. The opencast mine in Phalaborwa, in South Africa's Limpopo Province, has the capacity to yield 2.6 million tons per annum of phosphate rock concentrate from processing 35 million tons of ore per annum. Once crushed, milled, concentrated and dried, most of the phosphate rock concentrate is railed to Foskor's processing plant in Richards Bay, 800 km away on the country's east coast.^[3]

Tourism

Tourism and wildlife play a dominant role in the economy.

Transport

Phalaborwa Airport is a commercial airport serving the town.

Notable people

Tshepo Mangena: cricketer
Rivoningo Mhlari: businessman
Dale Steyn: South African cricketer
Daniel Mminele: South African banker and corporate executive
Ryan Coetzee: Swimmer who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Ethy Mbhalati: Cricketer
Alley Moca: Musician
Pule Mabe: Politician
Pule Shayi: Politician

Climate

This area is also known as the Valley of the Olifants. Rainfall is low. It has the highest winter temperature in South Africa, with an average winter temperature range from 9 °C to 26 °C.During summer the average temperatures vary from 20 °C to 33 °C with occasional heavy rainfall. The highest recorded temperature was 50 °C in December 2018.^[4]

Climate data for Phalaborwa
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	34 (93)	33 (91)	32 (90)	30 (86)	29 (84)	27 (81)	26 (79)	28 (82)	31 (88)	32 (90)	32 (90)	33 (91)	33 (91)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.5 (79.7)	26 (79)	25 (77)	23 (73)	20 (68)	18 (64)	17.5 (63.5)	19 (66)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	26 (79)	22 (72)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21 (70)	21 (70)	20 (68)	17 (63)	12 (54)	10 (50)	9 (48)	11 (52)	14 (57)	17 (63)	19 (66)	21 (70)	16 (61)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	97 (3.8)	81 (3.2)	65 (2.6)	25 (1.0)	12 (0.5)	4 (0.2)	7.5 (0.30)	7 (0.3)	21 (0.8)	46 (1.8)	69 (2.7)	96 (3.8)	529 (20.8)
Source: ^[5]