Bindura is a town in the province of Mashonaland Central

Mashonaland Central

Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 28,347 km² and a population of approximately 998,265 , representing about 8.5% of the total Zimbabwe population.- Background :Bindura is the capital of the province...

, 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...

. It is located in the Mazowe Valley about 88 km north-east of Harare

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 18,243. This rose to 21,167 in the 1992 census. It is the administrative capital of the province. Bindura Nickel, a subsidiary of Mwana Africa plc

Mwana Africa plc

Mwana Africa is a mining company based in Johannesburg and London. According to its website, it is the first African-owned and African-managed business to be listed in the Resources sector of the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market...

, mines nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

, copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and cobalt

Cobalt

Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....

 in the area and operates a smelter refinery just south of the town. Cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 and maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 is grown intensely in the region.

Bindura was originally named Kimberley Reefs after the 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...

 mine which was opened here in 1901. The name was changed to Bindura in 1913 when the railway arrived. The first basic school in Bindura opened in 1912.