Its formation began only in the late 1960's and early 1970's, as a result of iron ore mining in the Kalahari Desert, which hosts one of the five largest open-cast Mines in the World.
Kathu, meaning- “town under the trees", emerged as the settlement’s name in the early 1990's, a reference to its abundance of Camel Thorn trees. An Engineer coined the name as part of a tourism marketing campaign. It is also believed to have been used for a porridge that its local population brewed from powder found in Camel Thorn pods. Kathu’s Camel Thorn forest is one of only two in the World, the other being between Mariental and Rehoboth in, Namibia.
History of Mariental?
Named by local Rhenish (German Lutheran) missionaries, the town was founded in 1912 as a railway stop between Windhoek and Keetmanshoop and named after Maria, the wife of the first colonial who settled in the area, Hermann Brandt. It is home to the oldest Dutch Reformed Church congregation in Namibia, founded in 1898.
Kathu’s economy and population have grown substantially, primarily due to activity at the Sishen Mine, operated by Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore. Recently built houses at Siyathemba, a suburb of Kathu. This accommodates the people that moved out of Dingleton, where Kumba Iron Ore wants to mine. Among the recent substantial developments supporting the Town’s growth is the Kathu Solar Park (AS SEEN IN PHOTO). This is one of only six concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in South Africa and 150 worldwide. Located about 10km North of Kathu, the facility entered commercial operation in 2019. This was after three years of construction.
Most solar power plants in the world use photovoltaic (PV) panels to convert sunlight into electrical current. CSPs capture the sun’s heat and transfer it to a heat exchanger, which boils water and creates steam that turns a turbine to produce power. One advantage of CSPs over PV plants is that they typically feature an integrated energy storage system, which can supply electricity when the sun is not shining.
The mine is a key global supplier of high-grade iron ore, essential in the production of low-emission steel.
A mining operation of this scale required a substantial workforce of skilled engineers, technicians, and experienced managers!
