Tsumeb

Tsumeb is a town in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia, at an elevation of about 1,249 meters, known as the gateway to the north and the largest town in its region even though it lost its status as regional capital in 2008. It was founded in 1905 by Imperial Germany when the territory was the colony of German South West Africa, and its name comes from Otjiherero and Khoekhoe words meaning place of the frogs and to dig a hole in loose ground. As of 2023 the town had 34,960 inhabitants, and mining has defined it since its founding: between 1905 and 1996 the Tsumeb mine produced about 30 million tons of ore rich in copper, lead and zinc, and the deposit is recognized as one of 100 geological heritage sites worldwide by the International Union of Geological Sciences, with at least 170 mineral species found there, 20 of them found nowhere else on Earth.