Filabusi
Encyclopedia
Matabeleland South
Matabeleland South is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 54,172 km² and a population of approximately 650,000 . Gwanda is the capital of the province.-Geography:...
province in 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 the district capital of Insiza (District) and service centre for the surrounding mining and farming areas.
Mining
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...
in the Filabusi area is now mainly small scale gold mining. In the past, Filabusi was a major producer of 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...
with mines such as Fred and Royal Family, 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...
at Epoch (Bindura Nickel Corporation
Bindura Nickel Corporation
Bindura Nickel Corporation is a mining company based in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central. Bindura operates mines and a smelter complex in the area of Bindura, Zimbabwe. BNC is operated and majority-owned Mwana Africa plc, an African multinational mining company based in Johannesburg. BNC is...
) and 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...
at Pangani and Croft, but all these are now closed .
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
in the Filabusi area comprises cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranching and small-scale farming (see photo), the latter mainly on recent resettlement land.
Filabusi town is supplied with water from a weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
on the Insiza River
Insiza River
The Insiza River is the principal tributary of the Mzingwane River in Zimbabwe.It rises near Fort Rixon, Insiza District, and flows into the Mzingwane River near West Nicholson.- Hydrology :...
.