# Phalaborwa

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 original ruler and owner of the land, Makhuva, named the area "Phangweni" which means "The place where the sun rises" the place was later called "Ba-Phalaborwa" by the Sotho tribes who migrated from the south to the area. 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.
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.

## 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.

### 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.
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) |
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