Dorowa (Dorowa Mining Lease)
Dorowa is a village in the province of Manicaland, Zimbabwe located 3 km south of the Save River in the Upper Save valley about 90 km west of Mutare. The village grew up around the opencast Dorowa Mine where phosphate was discovered in 1945. The mine produces all of Zimbabwe's phosphate (155,000 tonnes were mined here in 1996). The village is a rural service centre for the Save communal land.
The mine itself has recently been hit by hard times with power cuts disrupting production and old machinery becoming obsolete with maintenance costs becoming unsustainable. Dorowa Minerals Limited has managed to distance itself from local and regional politics. The departure of long serving General Manager, Mr Mafukidze in 2012 induced a mixed reaction in the workforce. It has however managed to retain a number of loyal workers who have served the mine for a long time especially Mr C Muushandu ( more than 35 years) Mr Chitata, Mr Guwa, Mr Manzira and Mr Makonye who have all served for more than 20 years. The late Livingstone Mahwite was an employee of note who defied many odds. He had no formal education, started as a ‘garden hand’ for one of the mine managers and rose to become an electrical and telephone technician in the company. The mine has two residential areas which are Save Heights, a leafy low-density suburb located in a mountain about 2 km from the mine and Tongogara Village located a further 2 km from Save Heights. The mine also has a fully functional clinic that is open to all surrounding residents and an ambulance for emergencies.
The mine itself has recently been hit by hard times with power cuts disrupting production and old machinery becoming obsolete with maintenance costs becoming unsustainable. Dorowa Minerals Limited has managed to distance itself from local and regional politics. The departure of long serving General Manager, Mr Mafukidze in 2012 induced a mixed reaction in the workforce. It has however managed to retain a number of loyal workers who have served the mine for a long time especially Mr C Muushandu ( more than 35 years) Mr Chitata, Mr Guwa, Mr Manzira and Mr Makonye who have all served for more than 20 years. The late Livingstone Mahwite was an employee of note who defied many odds. He had no formal education, started as a ‘garden hand’ for one of the mine managers and rose to become an electrical and telephone technician in the company. The mine has two residential areas which are Save Heights, a leafy low-density suburb located in a mountain about 2 km from the mine and Tongogara Village located a further 2 km from Save Heights. The mine also has a fully functional clinic that is open to all surrounding residents and an ambulance for emergencies.
Map - Dorowa (Dorowa Mining Lease)
Map
Country - Zimbabwe
Flag of Zimbabwe |
The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes demarcated the Rhodesia region in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and later in 1893 Matabeleland after a fierce resistance by Matabele people known as the First Matabele War. Company rule ended in 1923 with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965, the white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. The state endured international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black nationalist forces; this culminated in a peace agreement that established universal enfranchisement and de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980. Zimbabwe then joined the Commonwealth of Nations, from which it was suspended in 2002 for breaches of international law by its government under Robert Mugabe and from which it withdrew in December 2003.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
ZWL | Zimbabwean dollar | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
SN | Shona language |