Tsumeb: Mining
Tsumeb (Otjiherero name: Okavisume) is a town of 15,000 inhabitants, the largest in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia near Etosha National Park. Tsumeb is often referred to as the "gateway to the north" of the country. Tsumeb was the regional capital of Oshikoto Region until 2008 when Omuthiya was proclaimed a town and the new capital. The area around Tsumeb forms its own electoral constituency and has a population of 44,113. The town is the site of a deep mine (the lower workings now closed), that in its heyday was known simply as "The Tsumeb Mine" but has since been renamed the Ongopolo Mine.
The name Tsumeb is generally pronounced "TSOO-meb". The name is not a derivative of German, Afrikaans, or English. It has been suggested that it comes from Nama and means either "Place of the moss" or "Place of the frog". Perhaps this old name had something to do with the huge natural hill of green, oxidized copper ore that existed there before it was mined out. Tsumeb was founded in 1905 by the German colonial administration and celebrated its 100th year of existence in 2005.
Tsumeb is notable for the huge mineralized pipe that led to its foundation. The origin of the pipe has been hotly debated. The pipe penetrates more or less vertically through the Precambrian Otavi dolomite for at least 1300 m. One possibility is that the pipe was actually a gigantic ancient cave system and that the rock filling it is sand that seeped in from above. If the pipe is volcanic, as some have suggested, then the rock filling it (the "pseudo-aplite") is peculiar in the extreme. The pipe was mined in prehistoric times but those ancient workers barely scratched the surface. Most of the ore was removed in the 20th century by cut-and-fill methods. The ore was polymetallic and from it copper, lead, silver, gold, arsenic, and germanium were won. There was also a fair amount of zinc present but the recovery of this metal was always difficult for technical reasons. Many millions of tonnes of ore of spectacular grade were removed. A good percentage of the ore (called "direct smelting ore") was so rich that it was sent straight to the smelter situated near the town without first having to be processed through the mineral enrichment plant. The Tsumeb mine is also renowned amongst mineral collectors. Between 1905 and 1996, the mine produced about 30 million tons of ore yielding 1.7 Mt copper, 2.8 Mt lead 0.9 Mt zinc, as well as 80 t germanium. The average ore grade was 10% Pb, 4.3% Cu, 3.5% Zn, 100 ppm Ag, 50 ppm Ge.
It is noted for 243 valid minerals and is the type location for 56 types of mineral. Some of the germanium minerals are only found in this mine.
Gem-quality dioptase crystals from the Tsumeb mine, source of many of the world's best (and most expensive) dioptase specimens.
Tsumeb, since its founding, has been primarily a mining town. The mine was originally owned by the OMEG (Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) and later by TCL (Tsumeb Corporation Limited) before its closure a few years ago, when the ore at depth ran out. The main shafts became flooded by groundwater over a kilometer deep and the water was collected and pumped as far as the capital, Windhoek. The mine has since been opened up again by a group of local entrepreneurs ("Ongopolo Mining"). A fair amount of oxidized ore remains to be recovered in the old upper levels of the mine. It is highly unlikely, though, that the deepest levels will ever be reopened.
The other notable feature of the town is the metal smelter, currently owned by Namibia Custom Smelters, which was sold by Weatherly International to Dundee Previous Metals in 2010. The right of the smelter is currently owned by IXM. The Annual Copper Festival is a well-known event on the local festival calendar.
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Tsumeb town and mine:
Tsumeb (Otjiherero name: Okavisume) is a town of 15,000 inhabitants, the largest in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia near Etosha National Park. Tsumeb is often referred to as the "gateway to the north" of the country. Tsumeb was the regional capital of Oshikoto Region until 2008 when Omuthiya was proclaimed a town and the new capital. The area around Tsumeb forms its own electoral constituency and has a population of 44,113. The town is the site of a deep mine (the lower workings now closed), that in its heyday was known simply as "The Tsumeb Mine" but has since been renamed the Ongopolo Mine.
The name Tsumeb is generally pronounced "TSOO-meb". The name is not a derivative of German, Afrikaans, or English. It has been suggested that it comes from Nama and means either "Place of the moss" or "Place of the frog". Perhaps this old name had something to do with the huge natural hill of green, oxidized copper ore that existed there before it was mined out. Tsumeb was founded in 1905 by the German colonial administration and celebrated its 100th year of existence in 2005.
Tsumeb is notable for the huge mineralized pipe that led to its foundation. The origin of the pipe has been hotly debated. The pipe penetrates more or less vertically through the Precambrian Otavi dolomite for at least 1300 m. One possibility is that the pipe was actually a gigantic ancient cave system and that the rock filling it is sand that seeped in from above. If the pipe is volcanic, as some have suggested, then the rock filling it (the "pseudo-aplite") is peculiar in the extreme. The pipe was mined in prehistoric times but those ancient workers barely scratched the surface. Most of the ore was removed in the 20th century by cut-and-fill methods. The ore was polymetallic and from it copper, lead, silver, gold, arsenic, and germanium were won. There was also a fair amount of zinc present but the recovery of this metal was always difficult for technical reasons. Many millions of tonnes of ore of spectacular grade were removed. A good percentage of the ore (called "direct smelting ore") was so rich that it was sent straight to the smelter situated near the town without first having to be processed through the mineral enrichment plant. The Tsumeb mine is also renowned amongst mineral collectors. Between 1905 and 1996, the mine produced about 30 million tons of ore yielding 1.7 Mt copper, 2.8 Mt lead 0.9 Mt zinc, as well as 80 t germanium. The average ore grade was 10% Pb, 4.3% Cu, 3.5% Zn, 100 ppm Ag, 50 ppm Ge.
It is noted for 243 valid minerals and is the type location for 56 types of mineral. Some of the germanium minerals are only found in this mine.
Gem-quality dioptase crystals from the Tsumeb mine, source of many of the world's best (and most expensive) dioptase specimens.
Tsumeb, since its founding, has been primarily a mining town. The mine was originally owned by the OMEG (Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) and later by TCL (Tsumeb Corporation Limited) before its closure a few years ago, when the ore at depth ran out. The main shafts became flooded by groundwater over a kilometer deep and the water was collected and pumped as far as the capital, Windhoek. The mine has since been opened up again by a group of local entrepreneurs ("Ongopolo Mining"). A fair amount of oxidized ore remains to be recovered in the old upper levels of the mine. It is highly unlikely, though, that the deepest levels will ever be reopened.
The other notable feature of the town is the metal smelter, currently owned by Namibia Custom Smelters, which was sold by Weatherly International to Dundee Previous Metals in 2010. The right of the smelter is currently owned by IXM. The Annual Copper Festival is a well-known event on the local festival calendar.
Facebook:
NAMIBIA:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/namibia.namibia
TSUMEB:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tsumeb.namibia
TRAVEL NAMIBIA:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelnamibia
Tsumeb town and mine:
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| Tsumeb Mine power station, 24 August 1926 |
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| The Tsumeb water tower, well-known landmark of Tsumeb. 13 December 1923 |
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| Tsumeb Mine opencast and dumps, 30 November 1925 |
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| Concentrate at the Tsumeb Mine, around 1926 |
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| Installing new boilers, 11 December 1923 |
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| F.W. Shaft No. 1, and Mine foreman's office at Tsumeb Mine, 27 January 1926 |
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| F.W. Shaft, Tsumeb Mine, 1925 |
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| The Sky Ladder, open cast mining, Tsumeb mine, 1921 |
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| Tsumeb panorama |
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| Ore dumps, Tsumeb Mine, 13 December 1925 |
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| Mine dumps, Tsumeb Mine, around 1926 |
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| Water cavity, Tsumeb Mine, 21 January 1924. Photo F. Heberling |
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| Power station expansion, Tsumeb Mine, 23 April 1923 |
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| Tsumeb OMEG Head Office. May 1914. Otavi Mine From E management building. Pfafferot |
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| Compound, 5 workers dwelling, around 1925 |
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| Building new quarters, 1926 (present senior single quarters) |
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| Shaped stone houses built by OMEG |
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| Director Kegel, 1924 |
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| Director of the Tsumeb Mine, Mr. and Mrs. Kegel, garden and house |
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| Director of the Tsumeb Mine, Mr. and Mrs. Kegel, garden and house |
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| Camels at Tsumeb, 1907. Photo C. Hubrich, Swakopmund. From E. Pfafferott |
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| Tsumeb, around 1912. A procession at celebration, Schuetzenverein. Locality: Holzelsauers Shop. From E. Pfafferot. Photo Erich Staebe, Karibib |
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| Farm house at Bobos, 10 November 1925 |
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| Tsumeb, 1907, Transportation in June 1921. Looks like a race. Car numbered 1 on radiator tank, OUT7. From E. Pfafferot |
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| Very large cluster of azurite crystals, ex-Smithsonian collection |
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| Calcite crystals colored red by tiny inclusions of hematite |
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| Zoned Cerussite crystal |
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| Dioptase crystals on calcite, a classic Tsumeb specimen |
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| Leiteite, a zinc arsenate, colored umber-red by inclusions of Ludlockite, a lead arsenate. Tsumeb is the type locality for both species |
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| Malachite pseudomorphs after azurite |
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| Gemmy mimetite with a sidecar of wulfenite |
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| Bright blue scorodite crystals on brown-black beudantite |
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| Tsumeb, start of the mine, 1907 |
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| Tsumeb panorama |
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| Warehouse and location, 14 February 1927 |
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| OMEG smelter. 26 March 1925 |
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| OMEG smelter. 1927 |
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| Tsumeb Mine plant, 30 August 1926 |
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| Expansion of Tsumeb Mine power station |
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| Imported bulls, Omeg Farm |
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