page_title: Port Nolloth
section_title: Copper shipments
hierarchical_section_title: Port Nolloth / History / Copper shipments
caption_attribution_description: English: Fishing vessels and diamond prospectors in Port Nolloth harbour, Northern Cape, South Africa Afrikaans: Vissersbote in die hawe van Port Nolloth, Suid-Afrika Deutsch: Fischerboote im Hafen von Port Nolloth, Namaqualand, Nordkap, Südafrika
context_page_description: Port Nolloth is a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, 144 kilometres northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality.
  The port was previously a transshipment point for copper from the Okiep mines, and diamonds from the Namaqua coast. Since the 1970s the principal seagoing activities have been fishing and small-vessel tourism. Today the town is a sleepy commercial hub with a number of holiday homes and a caravan park at the adjacent McDougalls Bay. It is also a gateway to the Richtersveld National Park, located 160 kilometres to the north along the Orange River.
context_section_description: A rudimentary quay was built in 1855, wide enough to accommodate the horse-drawn wagons that carried the copper ore from Okiep to the port. A small service town rapidly developed and was named Port Nolloth by Cape Colony Governor Sir George Grey, in honour of its surveyor, Captain M.S. Nolloth.
  In 1874, the wagons were replaced by the 154 km (96 mi) long Namaqualand Railway between the mine and the port and the quay was lengthened to 67 m (220 ft). However, while the railway significantly improved overland transport to the port, the increasing size of ore carriers began to create navigational difficulties in the bay. By the early 1900s, the sheltered aspect that had attracted surveyors fifty years before was proving too difficult for larger vessels, several of which ran aground on a coastal reef extending across the channel. The difficulties of the harbour and expensive ship repairs encouraged the development of an alternative transport route and by 1910 most Okiep ore was being carried by truck to the railhead at Bitterfontein in preference to shipments direct from the port.
caption: Fishing vessels and diamond prospectors in Port Nolloth harbour
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