Zouérat () is the largest town in northern

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and the capital of the Tiris Zemmour

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, with an approximate population of 62,380 (2023). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; , ), formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center. The city has about 173,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou ...

History

The town developed from its importance to

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining. It is surrounded by the

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

mines of Fderîck, Tazadit and Rouessa. The town houses the regional administration and military for Tiris Zemmour. Most of the town's population are employed directly and indirectly in the mining industry. A sizeable number of foreign workers from other African countries live in the town. Amenities include a medical clinic, social club, pool, school and shop. Since 2006, a

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

has grown around the town. In response authorities have begun construction of a wall, nicknamed locally as the "''mur de la honte''" (wall of shame), to separate the two areas.

Mining

Mining at the mountain was first recorded from the Kediet ej Jill in the 11th century, but it was not until 1952 that iron ore deposits were first commercially extracted on an industrial scale. Beginning in 1958, the first concessions on iron ore extraction were given to Miferma, Société des mines de fer de Mauritanie. At the time it was majority-controlled by European-based mining interests, however, in 1974 Miferma was nationalized by the Mauritanian government. In 1981 a new iron ore deposit was discovered at Guelb el Rhein, north of Zouérat. Almost a decade later, another was found in 1990 at Guelb Mhadaouat about from Zouérat. Other companies exploring for iron ore in the region include

Xstrata Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter o ...

and Arcelor Mittal. The reserves at the SNIM's Tazadit mine are estimated to be 200 million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s of

Transport

Zouérat is connected to the port of

by the Mauritania Railway. Freight trains that transport the iron ore to the coast can be as long as in length. The line is also used to bring in all the town's drinking water from Boulenoir. Tazadit Airport is served by regular flights from/to

and seasonally from/to

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

using Mauritania Airlines International Boeing 737-500 and Boeing 737-700 planes. Outside the mines, traffic drives on the right side of the road like the rest of Mauritania. However, all vehicles within the mining areas drive on the left. Traffic switches sides at the mine entrances.

Climate

Zouérat has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''). The climate is hot and dry throughout the year, a description accredited to the town's location within the extremes of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zouerat Tiris Zemmour region Regional capitals in Mauritania Communes of Mauritania Railway stations in Mauritania

History

Mining

Transport

Climate

See also

References