 The Kaapvaal Craton, Zimbabwe Craton, and Limpopo Belt are made of Archaean terranes and contain crust at least 3.2  and are underlain by a thick () layer of buoyant mantle that is producing garnets and diamonds.During the Palaeoproterozoic the northwest margin of the Archaean core grew by accretion and had formed a Proto-Kalahari Craton by 1.75 Ga.
During the period 1.4–1.0 Ga subduction occurred along the northwest margin followed by continental collisions along the eastern and southern margins.By this time enough Mesoproterozoic crust had accreted to transform the Kalahari Craton.