Commoner, Zimbabwe is a populated place and a place where highly deformed and folded quartz reef structure gold ore is extracted. It is about 50 km west-southwest of
Kadoma by air and 68 km by road. It is 67 km north-west of
Kwekwe by air and 96 km by road. It is in
Zhombe Kwekwe District,
Midlands Province
Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of and a population of 1,614,941 (2012). It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho and Chewa, as well as of ...
,
Zimbabwe. Commoner is not to be confused with Commoner Gold Mine near
Kadoma in
Mashonaland West Province.
Location
Commoner is in Mahogo Village, slightly over 1 000 metres north of
Columbina Rural Service Center
Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place in Zhombe. It is 95 km northwest of Kwekwe and 67 km southwest of Kadoma.
The Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west. Blue Gum m ...
, in
Mabura Ward
Mabura Ward is ward number 6 of the 33 wards in Zibagwe Rural District Council of Kwekwe District. It is in Zhombe Communinal Land in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. It is 100 km north-west-north of Kwekwe and 73 km south-west of Kadoma ...
of
Zhombe Communal Land,
Midlands Province
Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of and a population of 1,614,941 (2012). It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho and Chewa, as well as of ...
,
Zimbabwe.
Residential area
Former Commoner Residential Compound has since been integrated into Mahogo Village but is still known as Commoner Houses following the closure of Commoner Mine in the early 1990s. Commoner Houses as the place is called is about 600 meters from
Columbina Rural Service Center
Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place in Zhombe. It is 95 km northwest of Kwekwe and 67 km southwest of Kadoma.
The Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west. Blue Gum m ...
, making it the second closest location to the service center.
Commoner Houses benefited a handful of lucky local people when Commoner Mine closed, including Mahogo Village head. Some workers at the current mining plant at the old Commoner Mine site reside in these houses, either as their own homes or as tenants.
Geology
Claims were first filed in 1890, and by 1982, the mine was developed to a vertical depth of 250 m. Gold production until 1947 amounted to 4009 kg. The Commoner
orebody lies within the Commoner
Formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...
, within the Bulawayan
Group, 2.9-2.7
Ga. The Commoner Formation consists of
andesitic tuffs,
carbonaceous siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
s, and amygdaloidal andesitic
lavas. The Commoner orebody is a tabular
hydrothermal quartz-
carbonate vein, averaging 1 m in thickness. Chalcopyrite,
sphalerite
Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...
, and
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
are the common
sulfide minerals
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide (S22−) as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the ...
associated with concentrations of gold. Later
telluride mineralization includes native gold, Coloradoite and altaite.
Though Commoner is known to be rich in
gold, and that the defunct Commoner Mine specialized in extracting gold ore, 17 other minerals of smaller deposits are known to be available at the mine at Commoner. These are
altaite,
arsenopyrite,
chalcopyrite,
coloradoite,
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
,
hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
,
hessite,
kostovite,
melonite,
petzite,
pyrite,
rickardite,
sphalerite
Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...
,
stützite,
sylvanite
Sylvanite or silver gold telluride, chemical formula , is the most common telluride of gold.
Properties
The gold:silver ratio varies from 3:1 to 1:1. It is a metallic mineral with a color that ranges from a steely gray to almost white. It is c ...
,
tellurium and
weissite
Weissite is a telluride mineral, a copper telluride. Its chemical formula is . Weissite has hexagonal crystal structure. Its specific gravity is 6 and its Mohs hardness is 3. Occurrence is in Gunnison County, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in th ...
.
Commoner history
Commoner was named after Commoner Mine which was established during the Rhodesia era. The mine has been defunct for a decade but has since opened (2013) under a new name. Though the mine has another name, the name Commoner supersedes the later for it has become the name of a geographic place apart from the mine.
Mine ownership
A couple of organizations have owned the mine at Commoner in the past, including Africa Gold, but currently May Jel Mining Company is operating at Commoner reclaiming the old mine dumps.
Community service
It is a requirement that an operating organisation should make profits and expand its own viability but still, it should benefit the local community in one way or the other.
Historical
* Salakuhle School (misspelt ''Salagushle'') was changed to
Commoner Primary School when the old Commoner Mine chipped in to help the upkeep of the school then. Commoner Primary School is located 6.8 km from Commoner Stadium by air, on the other side of
Empress Mine
Empress Mine Township is a populated place in the area formerly known as Salakuhle (misspelled as Salagushle) in Zhombe Communal Land, Kwekwe District of the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. It is Zhombe's largest growth point yet officially it ...
in
Zhombe Ward 8 in Sitsha Village, south-east of Ngondoma Dam.
[Ngondoma Dam geographic location http://www.geonip.com/geolocation/ngondoma-dam-midlands-zimbabwe/7394828#]
* Commoner Hall has since been converted into a church for a local Pentecostal Assembly.
* Commoner Stadium is one of the ongoing service that the old Commoner Mine provided.
* Commoner Houses have been occupied by more than two scores of villagers under Mahogo Village.
May Jel Mining Company era
* May Jel Mine operating at Commoner has since drilled boreholes outside its yard and villagers in Maisa, Mahogo and Nzama villages fetch clean water from these water-points.
* Young people from these and other surrounding villages have found employment at the mine, easing the unemployment rate in the area, by a small but meaningful percentage.
Commoner Stadium
Commoner is the center of Mahogo Village, and the main center for two other villages. (Latitude -18.4420 Longitude 29.4458)
* Mahogo Village community meetings are held at Commoner Stadium ''Commoner Grounds''.
* The general elections polling station for Mahogo Village including
Columbina Rural Service Center
Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place in Zhombe. It is 95 km northwest of Kwekwe and 67 km southwest of Kadoma.
The Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west. Blue Gum m ...
is set at Commoner.
* Local social soccer tournaments are played at Commoner Grounds.
* Independence celebrations and all other such public celebrations for Maisa, Nzama and Mahogo Villages including
Columbina Rural Service Center
Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place in Zhombe. It is 95 km northwest of Kwekwe and 67 km southwest of Kadoma.
The Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west. Blue Gum m ...
and
Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme are held at Commoner Grounds.
Nearby places
*
Columbina Rural Service Center
Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place in Zhombe. It is 95 km northwest of Kwekwe and 67 km southwest of Kadoma.
The Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west. Blue Gum m ...
about 1 km south
*
Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme about 3 km north-west
*
BEE MINE Primary School
Zhombe (also known as Jombe) is a rural communal area in Kwekwe District, Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. It is an area of mixed Shona and Northern Ndebele People. It lies along the Mnyathi border line between Midlands and Mashonaland Provinc ...
about 4 km north
*
Sidakeni Rural Health Center about 3 km east
*
Empress Mine Township
*
Mopani Primary School
Empress Mine Township is a populated place in the area formerly known as Salakuhle (misspelled as Salagushle) in Zhombe Communal Land, Kwekwe District of the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. It is Zhombe's largest growth point yet officially i ...
*
Mabura Caves
Mabura Guano Cave is a mine containing an accumulation of bat guano. It is located in Zhombe Mabura Ward 6 in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe.Mark Mhukayesango (11 November 2015 Compound D Substitute Discovered In ZhombeRadio VOP. National New ...
19 km north
*
Ngondoma Dam
Ngondoma Dam is a dam on the Ngondoma River located 500 meters west of the Empress Mine Township in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. The dam is 67 kilometers northwest of the Kwekwe and 54 km southwest of Kadoma (by air).
The Zhombe Co ...
4 km south-west
*
Ngondoma River 3 km west
*
Nyaradzo High School
Nyaradzo Secondary School is a school in Zhombe Empress Mine Ward 8 Kwekwe District in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe.
Location
The school is 3 km south of Empress Mine and 90 km north-west of Kwekwe (by road_ shortest route)
H ...
5 km south-west-south
References
{{Kwekwe District
Populated places in Midlands Province