Phalaborwa

Phalaborwa is a country of copper and iron, worked by miners and smiths for many centuries. At Lolwe, or Loolekop, ore was dug from the hill, while smelting took place both near the mines and at settlements such as Shankare and Putwana. Iron and copper required different furnaces and methods, leaving traces of skilled work across the landscape.

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, metal production continued at mines and homesteads across the district. Iron slag accumulated in great heaps at the site known as Square, while metal goods circulated through local and wider trading networks, reaching the Indian Ocean coast through intermediaries. In 1725 François de Cuiper sought the mountain of copper and iron, evidence that its reputation had reached people far beyond Phalaborwa.