Uis is a settlement located in the

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. It belongs to the Dâures electoral constituency. Located in the former

Damaraland Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of South West Africa, which later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bordered roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the e ...

, it is known for the local mineral wealth. The settlement was established in 1958 as workers' settlement to exploit local

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

deposits. It has approximately 3,600 inhabitants and, before being downgraded from "village" to "settlement" in 2010, owned of land. Uis is located at the foot of the Brandberg, Namibia's highest mountain. The Brandberg is home to the world famous

The White Lady A White Lady is a type of female ghost, typically dressed in a white dress or similar garment. White Lady may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * White Lady (album), ''White Lady'' (album), by Badger, 1974 * White Lady (1987 film), ''White La ...

rock painting, said by some to be over 20,000 years old. Being also situated on the C36, the main road between the coast and the Damaraland interior, there is a reasonable amount of traffic, by far the main source of economic activity in Uis. The settlement holds a small supermarket, guesthouses and a restcamp, a bakery and a petrol station, together with a few other small shops. The

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

Uis River Uis is a settlement located in the Erongo Region, Namibia. It belongs to the Dâures Constituency, Dâures electoral constituency. Located in the former Damaraland, it is known for the local mineral wealth. The settlement was established in 1958 ...

, a tributary to the

Ugab River The Ugab River is an ephemeral river in north-western Namibia. Its lower section forms the border between Kunene Region and Erongo Region but its catchment area extends well into the Otjozondjupa Region. Ugab's source is near Otavi. From there t ...

, passes the settlement. Uis is home to the ''Brandberg Primary School'' and Petrus ǃGaneb Secondary School, both for about 300 learners. Petrus Ganeb SS was built before

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First ...

; its facilities are old and dilapidated.

Uis mine

Tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

has been mined in the Uis region since 1922. ''Uis Tin Mining Company'' was established in 1951 and a settlement was developed in 1958 to house the mine workers when ISCOR, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n mining company, started operations there and increased production. However, the

ore grade Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

at Uis is very low, and the mine - at its time the largest

open-cast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ro ...

tin mine in the world - was viable only because

, to which the territory was mandated, was economically isolated and could not buy tin on the world market. When

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

was abolished and international sanctions were lifted the mine was no longer competitive. In 1991, the main mining operations closed down because the price of tin dropped far enough to make it un-economical. There was still minimal activities on the mine site. Technology had improved enough to make it worthwhile to re-process the already excavated ore that was originally discarded and there is a re-processing plant located near the old mine dumps. This ore is processed to an enriched state and then taken to

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

for export. After 2010 new investments enabled work to start again at the old mine. Today successful production is dependent on a high world market price. The mine and the surrounding settlement are situated on the farm ''Uis Townlands No. 215'' and in private ownership today. The white mine spoils are visible from afar. Since 1995

Namib Base Minerals The Namib ( ; ) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba Ri ...

Pty Ltd is the owner, after a subsidiary of ISCOR sold it. Uis still produces rare rocks and minerals. Namibia is well known as a mineral rich country and geologists come from all over the world to study in Namibia because much of the interesting geology and rare rocks are situated at ground level rather than high up on mountains or deep underground. Uis is in danger of becoming a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

if mining cannot be continued. Uis was downgraded to "settlement" status in 2010.

References

{{Authority control Mining in Namibia Populated places in the Erongo Region Populated places established in 1958 1958 establishments in South West Africa