Thabazimbi mine is located in the Limpopo province close to the town of Thabazimbi.

Ore genesis is of a chemical nature, where secondary Haematite replaced chert within the BIF. Later stages of ferruginisation followed to produce high-grade laminated to brecciated iron ore. The occurrence of iron ore is structurally controlled, with faults serving firstly as conduits for iron-rich fluids and later as mechanisms for displacing (and/or duplicating) ore zones.

Local collapse structures within the underlying dolomites produced brecciated zones within the BIF, which were then filled by iron-rich fluids. A regional network of diabase sills and dykes served as trapping mechanisms for mineralising fluids in the lower section of the BIF, which resulted in an enriched lower section and a less-enriched upper section of the Penge Formation.

Generally speaking, the deposits dip southwards at an angle of approximately 45°. At depth the Haematite-rich rocks grade into Calcite Haematite and Talc-Haematite rocks. The mineralisation extends for 12km along strike; however, sterile gaps of BIF occur in between the deposits.

The occurrence of sterile zones between deposits is associated with faulting, where the ore zones wedge out laterally and vary in thickness from 10m to 25m. The intensity of ferruginisation is usually associated with the intensity of brecciation of the BIF due to the underlying karst topography of the dolomites.

Located in the Limpopo province, Thabazimbi mine has been in operation since 1931, making it the oldest iron ore mine in the country. Mining activities have taken place in three pits using conventional opencast methods, and ore is processed through a single processing facility.

Open pit ore is crushed in one of two primary gyratory crushers ahead of stockpiling and conveying to the plant. Ore is sized into various fractions by further crushing, washing and screening. Ore in the size ranges –32+18mm and –18+8mm are beneficiated in static bath DM drums to yield a 62.5%Fe lumpy product. Ore in the size range –8+1mm is beneficiated in DM cyclones to yield a 63.0%Fe fine product. The 1mm fraction is de-watered and added to the fine product. Dense medium rejects are stored on waste dumps whilst slimes are stored in tailings dams.