Tsumeb - Business/Industrial Sector

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TSUMEB BUSINESS/INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Existing Traders
Tsumeb has at its disposal well-developed wholesale, retail and services sectors to provide for the needs of the region's inhabitants and enterprises.
These include:

Wholesale Groceries Liquor Electrical Equipment Motor Vehicle Spares & Accessories Fresh Produce	Retail: Supermarkets Butcheries Building Materials Crushers & Brickmakers Car Dealers
Services: Furniture Repair Motor Vehicle Upholstery Radiator Repairs Financial Services Legal Practitioners Internet Service Providers Design/Printing/Binding	Earth Moving Building & Construction Clothing Car Hire Land Surveyors Civil Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

Mining and Smelting
After OMPL took over from TCL in 2000, possibilities of finding new ore bodies in the Tsumeb area were investigated. OMPL has now established its Tsumeb operations, which comprise of:

Tsumeb West Mine Situated on the municipal boundaries of Tsumeb just west of town, production at this mine is expected to commence during April 2003.	Tschuedi Mine Mining at this oppen-cast min, 15 km west of the town, will commence during 2003.
Tsumeb Upper Levels The upper levels of the old Tsumeb Mine appears to carry some ore deposits. Mining has already commenced in this area.	Tsumeb Mill The mill has now been completely refurbished to treat and concentrate all the ore mined at the Tsumeb area. This plant commenced operation in September 2002.

These Tsumeb operations will eventually provide work for an additional 200 employees, according to OMPL. The ripple effect is expected to benefit the larger community of Tsumeb and create even further employment opportunities.

OMPL pays out about N$1,5 million each month in salaries and contractor fees, of which about 70% is injected directly into the Tsumeb economy. OMPL employs 225 permanent employees.

All mining and exploration is done under the strictest environmental policies and concernes to prevent any damage to the surrounding areas.

Project 2000
Tsumeb Project 2000 was born during the economic crisis following the closure of the mine in 1998, in an effort to address the joblessness in town and alleviate poverty.

It is a community project managed by a trust, which has set the following project goals:

To create jobs by facilitating the formation of new small businesses and creating markets;
To lobby for funds to finance development projects;

To ensure participation of all sectors of the community;
To create profit by operating as a legal business entity.

The initiative is involved in identifying entrepreneurs and potential small businesses with a reasonable prospect of sustainability. These entrepreneurs are provided with small business loans at a very low interest rate. The money for these loans has been made possible through the grant of N$2 million to the project from the Government. Currently some N$1,2 million in loans has been granted to 63 applicants to establish small businesses, particularily in the fields of tailoring, agricultur, building and related trades, kapana (cooked meat), manufacturing, and catering & baking.

The directors and trustees of Project 2000 decided to establish a company that could become sustainable in the long run, the profits of which could be invested in the development of Tsumeb.