Musina

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title: "Musina" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-the-musina-local-municipality", "limpopo-river", "mining-communities-in-south-africa"] topic_path: "geography/south-africa" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musina" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameMusina
other_nameMessina
pushpin_mapSouth Africa Limpopo#South Africa#Africa
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameSouth Africa
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Limpopo
subdivision_type2District
subdivision_name2Vhembe
subdivision_type3Municipality
subdivision_name3Musina
subdivision_type4Main Place
established_titleEstablished
established_date1904
leader_titleCouncillor
area_footnotes
area_total_km2109.38
population_footnotes
population_total42678
population_as_of2011
population_density_km2auto
demographics_type1Racial makeup (2011)
demographics1_footnotes
demographics1_title1Black African
demographics1_info193.3%
demographics1_title2Coloured
demographics1_info20.4%
demographics1_title3Indian/Asian
demographics1_info30.7%
demographics1_title4White
demographics1_info45.1%
demographics1_title5Other
demographics1_info50.5%
demographics_type2First languages (2011)
demographics2_footnotes
demographics2_title1Venda
demographics2_info148.8%
demographics2_title2Sotho
demographics2_info211.7%
demographics2_title3Northern Sotho
demographics2_info310.4%
demographics2_title4English
demographics2_info45.4%
demographics2_title5Other
demographics2_info523.7%
timezone1SAST
utc_offset1+2
postal_code_typePostal code (street)
postal_code0900
postal2_code_typePO box
postal2_code0900
area_code_typeArea code
area_code015
website
::

::callout[type=note] the city in South Africa ::

| name = Musina | other_name = Messina | pushpin_map = South Africa Limpopo#South Africa#Africa | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = South Africa | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Limpopo | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Vhembe | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = Musina | subdivision_type4 = Main Place | established_title = Established | established_date = 1904 | leader_title = Councillor | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 109.38 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 42678 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_density_km2 = auto | demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011) | demographics1_footnotes = | demographics1_title1 = Black African | demographics1_info1 = 93.3% | demographics1_title2 = Coloured | demographics1_info2 = 0.4% | demographics1_title3 = Indian/Asian | demographics1_info3 = 0.7% | demographics1_title4 = White | demographics1_info4 = 5.1% | demographics1_title5 = Other | demographics1_info5 = 0.5% | demographics_type2 = First languages (2011) | demographics2_footnotes = | demographics2_title1 = Venda | demographics2_info1 = 48.8% | demographics2_title2 = Sotho | demographics2_info2 = 11.7% | demographics2_title3 = Northern Sotho | demographics2_info3 = 10.4% | demographics2_title4 = English | demographics2_info4 = 5.4% | demographics2_title5 = Other | demographics2_info5 = 23.7% | timezone1 = SAST | utc_offset1 = +2 | postal_code_type = Postal code (street) | postal_code = 0900 | postal2_code_type = PO box | postal2_code = 0900 | area_code_type = Area code | area_code = 015 | website = }}

Musina, also known as Messina (), is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Limpopo River with the Sand River and the border to Zimbabwe with a population of between 20,000 and 40,000. Iron ore, coal, magnetite, graphite, asbestos, diamonds, semi-precious stones and copper are mined in the region.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Copper-Papagoite-Quartz-tmu46c.jpg" caption="Copper and [[Papagoite]] in Quartz, from old Messina mine."] ::

After serving in the Anglo-Boer War, Colonel John Pascoe "J.P." Grenfell (1866-1948), grandson of John Pascoe Grenfell and brother of Francis Octavius Grenfell, came to South Africa after hearing rumours of valuable copper being in the area. Two prospectors, James Harper and James Campbell, told Grenfell that there were copper deposits, south of the Limpopo River, where the local tribe discovered them. Apparently, the tribe had mined the copper, but the prospectors said their mining of it had ceased.

Grenfell went to the area and had the deposits inspected. After verifying that they were valuable, he purchased a farm, Berkenrode, near a planned mining site, in October 1903. Five months later, he was granted a discoverer's certificate and, in that same month (March 1904), he founded the village Messina (later Musina).

In January 1905, he founded, and chaired, the Messina (Transvaal) Development Company, which became one of the largest companies in South Africa. Most people in Musina are either Venda people or Sotho people. Roughly 5% of residents in Musina are English-speaking Whites of British descent, almost exclusively this portion of the population are White Zimbabweans who have relocated to South Africa since the year 2000.

Geography

The Limpopo River is a large river which flows strongly during the annual rainy season, when lichen and other plant species of the dry region come alive. Sometimes, it floods it's dry river banks. The low-shrub and thorny tree lands that surround Musina and thrive in rains are alive with animals in sanctuaries that offer experienced-only camping safari accessible by sand and rock road tracks.

Road

The N1 road connects Musina with the Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe 15 kilometres to the north and to Louis Trichardt, Polokwane and Pretoria in the south (as a toll road). The R572 road connects Musina with the Mapungubwe National Park, the Pontdrif border with Botswana, and Alldays in the west. The R508 road connects south-east to Tshipise.

Border with Zimbabwe

The link with Zimbabwe at Beitbridge has become one of the busiest roads in the world and the busiest in Africa, due to black market importers from Zimbabwe and people looking for employment. This is mainly due to thousands crossing the border into South Africa every day. According to the New York Times, in January 2009, Musina had a shifting population of about 15,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Zimbabweans, many of whom lived in a refugee camp at the showground or in the streets. http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/jan24a_2009.html#Z9

Name

"Musina" is the TshiVenda word for copper, derived from a root that means spoil. This relates to the fact that copper "spoilt" the Venda's efforts to mine gold in the region, as they could not effectively separate the gold from the relatively insignificant copper.

Climate

Musina experiences a hot semi-arid climate (Koppen: BSh) with hot temperatures most of the year. Average annual precipitation amounts to 372 mm, and is highly concentrated in the summer months from October to April when severe late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms are common. Winter is extremely dry, with almost no precipitation, typically recorded in the driest months from June to August. Clear skies and exceptionally low humidity at this time of the year enable temperatures to plunge close to freezing at night, although frost is fairly uncommon.

|location = Musina, South Africa |single line = yes |metric first = yes |Jan high C = 33 |Feb high C = 32 |Mar high C = 31 |Apr high C = 30 |May high C = 28 |Jun high C = 25 |Jul high C = 25 |Aug high C = 27 |Sep high C = 29 |Oct high C = 31 |Nov high C = 32 |Dec high C = 32

|Jan low C = 21 |Feb low C = 21 |Mar low C = 19 |Apr low C = 16 |May low C = 12 |Jun low C = 8 |Jul low C = 8 |Aug low C = 10 |Sep low C = 14 |Oct low C = 17 |Nov low C = 19 |Dec low C = 20

|precipitation colour=green |Jan precipitation mm = 61 |Feb precipitation mm = 65 |Mar precipitation mm = 42 |Apr precipitation mm = 26 |May precipitation mm = 12 |Jun precipitation mm = 4 |Jul precipitation mm = 1 |Aug precipitation mm = 2 |Sep precipitation mm = 15 |Oct precipitation mm = 33 |Nov precipitation mm = 55 |Dec precipitation mm = 56 |year precipitation mm = 372

|Jan precipitation days = 8 |Feb precipitation days = 8 |Mar precipitation days = 5 |Apr precipitation days = 4 |May precipitation days = 2 |Jun precipitation days = 2 |Jul precipitation days = 2 |Aug precipitation days = 1 |Sep precipitation days = 3 |Oct precipitation days = 5 |Nov precipitation days = 7 |Dec precipitation days = 9 |year precipitation days = 55

|source = World Climate Guide {{cite web |url = http://www.worldclimateguide.co.uk/climateguides/southafrica/messina.php |title = Climate Statistics for Musina, South Africa |access-date = 15 January 2012}}

Schools

High schools

  • Musina High School
  • Hoërskool Eric Louw
  • Renaissance Secondary School

Primary schools

  • Makushu Primary School
  • Bonwa Udi Primary School
  • Nehemiah Christian School
  • Rehoshebah Primary School
  • Gateway Primary School
  • Rixile Primary School
  • Messina Primary School
  • St Martin De Porres Primary School

References

References

  1. "Main Place Musina". Census 2011.
  2. "Grenfell, Colonel John Pascoe". Biographical Database of Southern African Science.
  3. Paul Oldfield. (31 July 2014). "Victoria Crosses on the Western Front August 1914 – April 1915: Mons to Hill 60". Pen and Sword.
  4. "Ajoite". Mindat.
  5. Diasporas from States in Crisis: A Case Study of the Zimbabwean Diaspora and Its Role in the Homeland by Leigh Ann Detwiler
  6. Falkner, John. (May 2012). "South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis". National Department of Transport.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

populated-places-in-the-musina-local-municipalitylimpopo-rivermining-communities-in-south-africa