Penhalonga

Penhalonga is mining village in the province of Manicaland, Zimbabwe located 18 km north of Mutare in a valley where the Sambi and Imbeza Rivers meet the Mutare River. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 4,477. Ancient gold workings have been found in the area. In 1895 the Penhalonga Mine opened and the village grew around the gold mine. The name is derived from the Portuguese words penha meaning 'rocky mountain' and longa meaning long. While the old Penhalonga mine closed in 1943, a new mine, the Rezende Mine, opened in 1999. Bauxite clay, which is also mined in the area, supplies most of Zimbabwe's pottery industry. The village is the residential and commercial centre for the mine and the surrounding area of forestry, dairy and mixed farming.