It straddles the Great Dyke, a mineral-rich geological formation that runs north-south down the center of the country.
Built around the chromium mining business, with two of the largest mines operated by Lonrho (London Rhodesia Company), which has since given up its stake, and Zimasco (Zimbabwe Alloy and Steel Company).
More recently, (starting in the 1990s) smaller, independent miners have accounted for larger volumes of the ore to leave the area.
It has also been used as a dormitory town for the Sino-Zimbabwe cement company about 20 km west.
However, since the commodity price collapse of the 1990s it has largely become a ghost town.