The copper mines in the Okiep district of Namaqualand are steeped in the history of South African mining and geology. The most famous mineral specimen-producing copper mine in the district was the Jan Coetzee mine, where several thousand quartz specimens were collected in 1966. Excellent specimens of chalcopyrite, fluorite, calcite, gypsum and chalcocite have been collected from other mines in the district such as Nababeep West and Okiep.

INTRODUCTION

Dutch colonialists discovered the Okiep deposits in 1685, although the indigenous Africans may have previously worked copper there for several hundred years. The first mine to be opened by Europeans in South Africa is located in the Okiep district, and the first South African mining company was formed there in 1852 to mine copper from the deposits. Other notable "firsts" for the region include the first South African geological report and the first geological map produced in this country, both of which describe and depict the Namaqualand copper fields.

Fluctuating copper prices, coupled with a remote and hostile setting, have resulted in varying degrees of success and failure in the 150-year ("modern") history of the mines. Derelict and abandoned mining apparatus, some imported from Cornwall, can still be seen scattered around at a few of the old mines.

LOCATION

The Okiep copper district covers an area of approximately 3000 km^sup 2^ in the Northern Cape Province and includes the towns of Springbok, Nababeep, Okiep, Concordia and Carolusberg. The geographic region is referred to as Namaqualand.

The greater part of the copper district consists of a highly dissected mountainous terrain that flattens eastward, merging with the Bushmanland plain. The average elevation is 900 meters above sea level, rising in places to about 1300 meters. The area has an average annual rainfall of only 17.5 cm.

HISTORY

Copper! It is a malleable, enduring metal that has served man for untold centuries. Certainly it has served Namaqualand well. More than anything else it has made Namaqualand what it is, and to mention the one without the other is to censor history. (Steenkamp, 1975, p. 37)

PRE-EUROPEAN COPPER MINING

Copper was mined for centuries in southern Africa, the most noteworthy localities being in Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana and the northeastern parts of South Africa (Miller, 1995). Two localities, at Palabora and Messina, were later discovered by Europeans and developed into significant copper mines. Radiocarbon testing of charcoal samples from the former site date it back to 770 AD, making it the oldest known site for pre-European mining anywhere in southern Africa (Mason, 1982).

There is, therefore, well-documented evidence for pre-European copper mining in some parts of southern Africa, but the Namaqualand region is somewhat problematical. The local Namaqua people were wearing copper bands on their arms and ankles when they first met the Dutch explorers in the 1660's, and it was this fact that prompted the first expeditions to find the "copper mountain." Even earlier, when the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz landed on the western shores of the southern African continent on route to the East Indies, he too encountered Africans wearing copper ornaments. The copper may have been traded from other regions, perhaps from Namibia to the north or from the Transvaal and eastern Botswana-no unequivocal archaeological evidence has been found in Namaqualand to prove that the copper worn by the locals was in fact mined there. The Dutch explorers found oxidized copper ore well-exposed on the surface in several places, so the lack of proven African mining in this region is somewhat perplexing (Miller, 1995). Moreover, despite the absence of archaeological evidence, other historical documents clearly show "Hottentots" working and smelting iron (Kolbe, 1727) and possibly copper as well.

EUROPEAN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

17th Century

The Okiep copper district's history is almost as old as European colonization in South Africa; its beginning postdates Jan van Riebeck's landing and occupation of the Cape in 1652 by only a few years. The first European exploration parties that were sent forth into the interior of Namaqualand started out from the Cape of Good Hope, dispatched to find the "legendary" golden wealth of King Monomotapa (Dapper, 1676; Steenkamp, 1975). In 1660, van Riebeck sent the first exploratory team into the interior of northwestern South Africa. Between 1660 and 1664, a total of six expeditions were undertaken, although none found either the gold or copper; these discoveries were to come later. Nonetheless, these early travelers did return to the Cape settlement with geographic information that was to be an invaluable aid to later investigators. They also amassed valuable data on the flora and fauna of the region.

The last of these early expeditions was led by Sergeant Jonas de la Guerre, who, with a party of 14 men, set out from the Dutch fort on October 11, 1663. His directive was still to seek out the Monomotapa kingdom, a challenge he was not to fulfill. Unlike the parties before him, Guerre did not even reach the Orange River. Yet he ventured close to the outcrop of copper deposits that were later located in the northern region of the Kamiesberg.