Matabeleland area has important gold deposits. Industries include gold and other mineral mines, and engineering. There has been a decline in the industries in this region as water is in short supply. Promises by the government to draw water for the region through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project have not been carried out. The region is allegedly marginalised by the government. Around the 10th and 11th centuries the Bantu-speaking Bakalanga arrived from the south and settled in Mapungubwe on the Limpopo and Shashi river valleys. Later they moved north to Great Zimbabwe. By the 15th century, the Bakalanga had established a
Matabeleland North Province enough maize to feed their families. However, during the colonial era, large numbers of cattle ranches were formed and cattle ranching has proved to be more successful than growing crops in the province. The upper reaches of the Nata River flow through Matabeleland North before entering Botswana to discharge to the Makgadikgadi Pans. The region does have a significant amount of other resources like gold, limestone, methane gas, coal, and timber. As seen in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, the area is also known for its substantial wildlife population. However, the most famous geographic feature of Matebeleland North