The Mineral Industry of Namibia
Tuesday 06th of May 2008
Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa between South Africa and Angola. The 825,418-square-kilometer country had an estimated population of 1.8 million in 2000 and a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of about
1 $4,300 based on purchasing power parity. In 1999, the mineral
industry of Namibia provided about 43% of exports and 20% of
the country’s GDP (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency,
Namibia—Economy, World Factbook 2000, accessed
December 5, 2000, at URL http://www.odci.gov/cia/
publications/Factbook/geos/ wa.html#Econ). Diamond
remained the most important sector of the mining industry
followed by uranium, for which Namibia ranked as the world’s
fourth largest producer. Namibia was also the second largest
producer of salt in Africa. Other important mineral products
included copper, dimension stone (granite and marble), fluorite,
gold, lead, silver, and zinc.
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