Foskor Mine Museum in Phalaborwa, Limpopo

The Foskor Mine Museum is situated in Phalaborwa in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

One of the areas main industries is mining and the Foskor Mine Museum is an invaluable archive that tracks Foskor’s development over time. The mine museum provides insights into the history of mining in Phalaborwa, both ancient and recent and part of the exhibitions are dedicated to the cultures of the area that helped shape the mining industry of the Limpopo Province. Smelting of copper and iron ore date back to 400 AD when the Sotho people called it “Ba-Phalaborwa”, meaning “better than the south”.

The Museum also details information on the opencast mine, Phalaborwa’s very own “Big Hole”. It is 2 km wide and 450 meters deep and visitors to the museum should enquire about visiting the viewpoint to see this impressive tourist attraction.

Things to do and see

• History on Mining in Phalaborwa
• Exhibition on Ancient Smelting Techniques
• Exhibition on Open Cast Mine
• Exhibition on the cultures in the area
• Opencast Mine Viewpoint

Admission

No admission fee is charged.

Climate

Phalaborwa experiences rainfall mainly in the summer months with the highest occurring between November and February.

Summer months, October to March will experience average temperatures of between 18˚C to 31˚C. 

Winter months, May to August, will bring temperatures down to between 8˚C and 24˚C.

Transport

There are daily flights from Johannesburg into the Hendrik van Eck Airport in Phalaborwa. Car rental companies are available for easy access to the surrounding areas. Road trips from Johannesburg via the N12 and N4 will take approximately five and a half hours.