Oranjemund

▪ Namibia

      planned company town in one of the principal gem- diamond-producing areas of the world, extreme southwestern Namibia. It is located near the Atlantic coast about 5 miles (8 km) north of the mouth of the Orange River, in the sand dunes of the extremely arid Namib desert. Gem-quality diamonds were discovered in the vicinity in the late 1920s, and the town was established in 1936. In 1943 Oranjemund became the headquarters of the monopolistic Consolidated Diamond Mines of South West Africa, Ltd. (a subsidiary of De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. (De Beers S.A.)); in 1994 the company was reformed as Namdeb Diamond Corp., an equal partnership between the Namibian government and De Beers. Access to Oranjemund and adjacent areas is restricted by the diamond-mining company.

      The town has no ocean port facilities but is connected to Alexander Bay, S.Af. (across the Orange River), by a modern highway bridge. Air services from Alexander Bay indirectly connect Oranjemund with Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, and with Cape Town in South Africa. A number of planned satellite settlements have been built in the mining area along the coast north of Oranjemund. Pop. (2001) 5,451.

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