Elizabeth Bay is a mining town in southern coast of
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, 25 km south of
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.
The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...
.
It was formerly considered a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
. 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
Sam Nujoma
Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...
on 2 August 1991
and stopped being operational sometime around 1998. By 2000, the town was considered a ghost town and tours were run through it by
Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for “Coleman's head”, german: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib in southern Namibia, ten kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during ...
.
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
De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...
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 seal
The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal.
Description
The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. ...
s.
Media
*The derelict theater building in Elizabeth Bay was filmed in a 2010 episode of ''
Life After People: The Series'' which was mainly featuring
Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for “Coleman's head”, german: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib in southern Namibia, ten kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during ...
, another ghost town approximately 30 km north of Elizabeth Bay. The episode focused on the effects of wind and sand upon the various run-down buildings and displayed rooms that were filled with sand.
Climate
See also
*
Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for “Coleman's head”, german: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib in southern Namibia, ten kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during ...
*
Pomona
References
{{coord, 26, 54, 58, S, 15, 11, 02, E, region:NA_type:landmark, display=title
Ghost towns in Africa
Former populated places in Namibia