Country Namibia Constituency Lüderitz Constituency | Region ǁKaras Region Local time Thursday 7:48 AM | |
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Time zone South African Standard Time (UTC+1) Weather 23°C, Wind E at 13 km/h, 56% Humidity | ||
Obelixa a brown hyena on elizabeth bay namibia part 2
Elizabeth Bay is a mining town in southern Namibia. It was formerly considered a ghost town.
Contents
Map of Elizabeth Bay, Namibia
Elizabeth Bay in on the coast of Namibia, 25 km south of Lüderitz.
Diamonds were first discovered in the region around 1908; however, it wasn't until 1989 that the government of Namibia spent $53 million on the exploration and creation of a new diamond mine on the site. The mine had a projected life-span of ten years and was expected to produce 2.5 million cts of diamonds. The mine was officially opened by Dr. Sam Nujoma on 2 August 1991.
The mine stopped being operational sometime around 1998. By 2000, the town was considered a ghost town and tours were run through it by Kolmanskop.
In 2005 it was announced that the mine would be expanded, thus furthering its lifespan by eight years. The mine is currently operated by Namdeb Diamond Corp. It is owned jointly by De Beers and the Namibia Government.
As of 2009 the Elizabeth Bay mine was operating at a $76 million loss.
Elizabeth Bay is home to forty percent of the world's Cape fur seals.