Page 75 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e

CHAPTER 5: Limpopo Province

Introduction: A fairly recent development is the mining of coal of
which huge reserves have been identified and which
attracted the national electricity generator ESKOM to
This province borders on several countries including
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and hosts what build several mega power stations in this area. Due to
can possibly be called the most famous wildlife park in the scarcity of water these power stations make use of
the country, the Kruger National Park. A number of other dry cooling systems.
nature reserves with luxury game lodges and private
game parks adorn this most northern province of South This province is about 125 000 km² and is relatively
Africa. This province therefore attracts a substantial sparsely populated and most of its area is defined as
number of tourists and game hunters from as far a field rural areas. The capital is Polokwane, previously called
as the United States. Pietersburg and many of its other sizeable towns are
situated along the N1 highway.
The Waterberg Biosphere has received UNESCO status
and consists of beautiful water rich mountains and typi- The Limpopo River forms its border with Zimbabwe and
cal South African dry Bushveld. provides water for this major relatively frost free vege-
table growing area, which for example supplies the bulk
of the tomatoes for the South African market, along
It is rich in minerals due to the fact that most of the
province is situated on top of the Bushveld Igneous with citrus, and many other subtropical products.
Complex and as previously mentioned this is the biggest
lopolith in the world. The mineral deposits are fairly In terms of history and heritage the world famous
shallow around the edges and large deposits of iron ore, Mapungubwe site where an ancient civilisation that
platinum, chromium, phosphates, and copper is mined worked with gold, was recently discovered. There is a
along the edges of this lopolith. Gold and diamonds are huge challenge on how to exploit the mineral and coal
also present albeit it in relatively smaller quantities. deposits of this area without harming the ecology and
the historical heritage.

◊ Maoungubwe World Heritage Site

1