Rhodesia Monteleo deposit and mill, 15 miles south of Shabani, Zimbabwe

The Rhodesian Monteleo mine and mill lay in the Vukwe Hills near Shabani, in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe; the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook places it "15 miles south of Shabani" in one report and "15 miles southeast of Shabani" in the next.^1,2 The yearbook first mentions it for 1951, when "a new company was planning mining and milling operations on a deposit 15 miles from Shabani," named "Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd., a subsidiary of African & European Investment Co., Ltd., of Johannesburg."¹ The same yearbook, drawing on a Canadian mining bulletin, reported that two Aerofall mills had been or would be installed in the Rhodesian Monteleo mill.¹

The yearbook for 1952 said the company "has completed its new mill at its property in the Vukwe Hills," and expected "fiber shipments on a substantial scale" in 1953.² The yearbook for 1953 said the company "began operation of its new mill in April 1953."⁴ Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, reported in October 1953 that the mine "is now in production," with "vast ore reserves," and that during March 1953 the mine, which it called a "slip fibre" occurrence, "produced 128 short tons of asbestos."³

The work did not last long: the yearbook says the company "was obliged to suspend activity late in 1953 because of decreasing demand and declining prices," and in June 1954 the consulting mining engineer W. E. Sinclair, writing in Asbestos, counted "Monteleo Asbestos, near Shabani" among Rhodesian mines that "have stopped production."^4,6 The yearbook, drawing on Mineral Trade Notes, later named "Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos, Shabani" as one of six companies that produced spinning grades in 1959, though that page does not name the company's mine.⁵

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.³

Location

Output the documents report

Figures as printed, in the units each document uses (short tons before about 1990, metric tons after, in most U.S. chapters). Some are a year's output, some a daily rate or a capacity, some a company's total rather than this mine's alone; the statement for that year below says which.

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1951

• Mill: “two such machines in the Rhodesian Monteleo mill, 15 miles south of Shabani”, as reported by Canadian Min. and Met. Bull., p. 7¹
• Exploration: “a new company was planning mining and milling operations on a deposit 15 miles from Shabani” (Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 9¹
• Ownership: “Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd., a subsidiary of African & European Investment Co., Ltd., of Johannesburg” (Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 9¹

1952

• Mill: “has completed its new mill at its property in the Vukwe Hills, 15 miles southeast of Shabani” (Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 10²

1953

• Opened: “Fiber shipments on a substantial scale are expected in 1953” (Rhodesia Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 10²
• Opened: “The Rhodesian Monteleo Mine, situated in Vukwe Hills, south-east of Shabani ... is now in production”, p. 18³
• Idle: “was obliged to suspend activity late in 1953 because of decreasing demand and declining prices” (Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 10⁴
• Output: “During March 1953, the mine ... produced 128 short tons of asbestos”, p. 18³
• Mill: “which began operation of its new mill in April 1953” (Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos, Ltd.), p. 10⁴

1954

• Idle: “Monteleo Asbestos, near Shabani ... have stopped production”, said by W. E. Sinclair, M.I.M.M. (Consulting Mining Engineer), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 4⁶

1959

• Output: “Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos, Shabani ... produced spinning grades” (Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos), as reported by Mineral Trade Notes, p. 9⁵

Other names

Documents call this mine “Rhodesian Monteleo mill”, “deposit 15 miles from Shabani”, “property in the Vukwe Hills”, “Rhodesian Monteleo Asbestos”, “Rhodesian Monteleo Mine”.

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1951 (January 1, 1952), pp. 7, 9.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1952 (January 1, 1953), p. 10.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, October 1953 (October 1, 1953), p. 18.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1953 (January 1, 1954), p. 10.
5. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1960 (January 1, 1961), p. 9.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1954, June 1954 (June 1, 1954), p. 4.