Zvishavane, Zimbabwe
Encyclopedia
Zvishavane is a mining
town in Midlands Province
, Zimbabwe
. Surrounded by low hills, it lies 97 km west of Masvingo
on the main Bulawayo
-Masvingo road. Other roads lead from Zvishavane to Gweru
(121 km north) and Mberengwa
(27 km south-west). It is also on direct rail links to Gweru
and Beit Bridge which then link up with Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and to Maputo
in Mozambique
, and Pretoria
in South Africa
. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 26,758, by 1992 this had risen to 32,984. The population was estimated at 35,000 in 2002.
The town developed as a residential centre for an asbestos
mine which started operations in 1916 but growth was slow until the railway reached the town in 1928. The town was granted municipal status in 1968. Although the asbestos mine is the biggest producer of the mineral in Zvishavane, platinum
, gold
, beryl
, chromite
iron
ore at Buchwa and recently discovered huge deposits of diamond
at Murowa are also mined in the area.
Zvishavane is a Shona name, which is said to be derived from "zvikomo zvishava", which means "red hills". The precises meaning of Zvishavane is said to be "reddish or 'reddened' hills", referring to the many surrounding low hills that are characterised by red soil. Mashava
, formerly Mashaba, is another nearby asbestos mining town owned by the same company. The name "mashava" is a Shona name that means "of red", which is derived from "mavhu mashava" that literally means "the soil that is red". Zvishavane also focuses on the colour with the "zvi-" implying the small hills, i.e., "zvikomo".
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town in Midlands Province
Midlands (Zimbabwe)
Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 49,166 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million . Gweru is the capital of the province. It is home to various peoples...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Surrounded by low hills, it lies 97 km west of Masvingo
Masvingo
Masvingo is a town in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The town is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name.- History :...
on the main Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
-Masvingo road. Other roads lead from Zvishavane to Gweru
Gweru
Gweru is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 146,073 , making it the third largest city in the nation. Gweru is the capital of Midlands Province. Gweru was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson. The first bank opened in Gweru in 1896, and the stock exchange...
(121 km north) and Mberengwa
Mberengwa (District)
Mberengwa is a district in Midlands province in Zimbabwe. The district is prone to droughts and high temperatures, but abundant in minerals like gold, iron ore, emeralds and also asbestos was mined before. Buchwa Mine, Vanguard Mine, Sandawana and C Mine are all located in Mberengwa. The name...
(27 km south-west). It is also on direct rail links to Gweru
Gweru
Gweru is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 146,073 , making it the third largest city in the nation. Gweru is the capital of Midlands Province. Gweru was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson. The first bank opened in Gweru in 1896, and the stock exchange...
and Beit Bridge which then link up with Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and to Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, and Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 26,758, by 1992 this had risen to 32,984. The population was estimated at 35,000 in 2002.
The town developed as a residential centre for an asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
mine which started operations in 1916 but growth was slow until the railway reached the town in 1928. The town was granted municipal status in 1968. Although the asbestos mine is the biggest producer of the mineral in Zvishavane, platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, beryl
Beryl
The mineral beryl is a beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be3Al26. The hexagonal crystals of beryl may be very small or range to several meters in size. Terminated crystals are relatively rare...
, chromite
Chromite
Chromite is an iron chromium oxide: FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. Magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite ; substitution of aluminium occurs leading to hercynite .-Occurrence:Chromite is found in...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
ore at Buchwa and recently discovered huge deposits of diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
at Murowa are also mined in the area.
Origin of the Names:"Shabanie" and "Zvishavane"
Zvishavane was formerly called Shabanie. The name "Shabanie" has been said to be derived from "shavani", a Ndebele word meaning "finger millet", or "trading together".Zvishavane is a Shona name, which is said to be derived from "zvikomo zvishava", which means "red hills". The precises meaning of Zvishavane is said to be "reddish or 'reddened' hills", referring to the many surrounding low hills that are characterised by red soil. Mashava
Mashava
Mashava is a mining village in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe and is located 40 km from Masvingo. Asbestos was and still is being mined in this small Zimbabwean town...
, formerly Mashaba, is another nearby asbestos mining town owned by the same company. The name "mashava" is a Shona name that means "of red", which is derived from "mavhu mashava" that literally means "the soil that is red". Zvishavane also focuses on the colour with the "zvi-" implying the small hills, i.e., "zvikomo".