| Location: | 360km north east of Pretoria, close to the Kruger National Park. |
| Open: | |
| Fee: | |
| Classification: |
 Copper mine,
opencast mine
|
| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | production: 30,000 tonnes of ore a day, 90,000 tonnes of copper a year |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
Palabora Mining Company Ltd, 1 Copper Road, Phalaborwa, 1390, South Africa, Tel: +27-15-780-2920, Fax: +27-15-780-2933. Ba-Phalaborwa Tourism Association, PO Box 14, Phalaborwa, 1390, South Africa, Tel: +27-82-955-7683. Northern Province Tourism Board, PO Box 1309, Pietersburg. 0700 South Africa, Tel: +27-15-288-0099, Fax: +27-15-288-0094. E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:33:16 $ |
| 1966 | open cast copper mining started. | |
| 1980 | archaeological excavation uncovered a large historic ironsmelting site, complete with furnace. | |
| 1996 | it was decided to develop a new underground mine to continue operations. | |
| 2002 | open cast mining will very likely come to an end. |
Palabora contains magnetite, vermiculite, apatite, zirconium, titanium and uranium as well as copper. An alkaline igneous complex consitsts mainly of pyroxenite with occurrences of pegmatites, foskorites and carbonatites. The complex has a surface outcrop of 20km² which is phosphate-rich.
The central zone, called Loolekop is the basis for Palabora's copper production. The highest grades of copper are found in the center with up to 1%, decreasing concentric. Today only ore with a grade of 0.7% remains.
Palabora Copper Mine is South Africa's deepest and largest open cast mine. And it is one of the largest copper mines in the world.
The bottom of the oppencast pit is today about 230 below sea level. The diameter of the pit is almost 2,000m. This makes it the widest man-made hole in Africa.
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