Antelope Mine
Antelope Mine is a village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe. It is located 115 km south of Bulawayo and 15 km south of Kezi village.
Antelope Mine is a village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe. It is located 115 km south of Bulawayo and 15 km south of Kezi village. The village was established in an area once rich in wildlife and was named after a gold mine which started operating in 1913 but closed down in 1919.
Minerals Mined
Lepidolite and Gold
Lepidolite stones
Lepidolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored member of the mica group of minerals. The stones are used in Europe and North America. They are thought to be powerful in overcoming all kinds of emotional or mental dependency, assisting in the release of addictions, including eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia and over-eating.
Society and Culture
The modern village is a commercial centre for the surrounding area and the Semukwa communal land. Together with the village of Maphisa, it draws on the nearby Gulamela Dam to irrigate a large communal agricultural scheme. Many mission schools have been established in the area, and the Salvation Army operates both a mission school and a hospital in the village. Dr Samuel Tichafa Parirenyatwa, who was the first black District Medical Officer of Health (DMOH) for Matobo District, was based at Antelope Mine Hospital.
Antelope Mine is, like a number of mining towns in Zimbabwe, a centre of settlement for immigrants, such as the Chewa people. They migrated to the then British colony of Southern Rhodesia in the 1950s from Northern Rhodesia (the present-day Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) to work as migrant labourers in the mineral extraction and agricultural industries.
