Description by Geoff Daniell : '(1) In 1965, as a school kid in Worcester, I was given approximately 100 mineral samples by a retired geologist who had spent many years in SWA.

(2) That event is what got me hooked on Geology, and then on Astronomy and the outdoors. I resolved to try and visit everyone of the sites where these samples were collected originally. (I have so far managed to find and get to 24 of the sites, another 30 odd to go)!

(3) One of the sites was the one in question, referred to by the Geologist as being, 'North of Hentjesbaai, South of Cape Cross, about 20 miles East of mile 72.' Really cryptic as were all of his descriptions, clearly designed to satisfy a school boys curiosity with the minimum of Info.

(4) Many sites were prospected in that time looking for viable tin deposits. Many of the sites lie in a band from Cape Cross to Uis, some of which were mined for a short while and then abandoned presumably because of low yields. This is one of those sites. As soon as mining operations stop, ground water starts filling up the open cast holes, as has happened with the Tin mine at Uis as well. Salts leach out of the mineral deposits = why the water becomes loaded with minerals. Nowhere in my notes dated from the time or in the years '78 - '86, when I was in SWA do I find any record of anyone doing any analysis on the water. I have never actually visited the site. I tried to find it once on foot in 1978, but that is it. Spent a week walking from Mile 72 East into the desert and back again.

(5) There are two abandoned mines in the area one known as the 'Molopo' and the other as the 'strathmore' mine, but I think these are both further East of the 'dead Sea'. An old map I got a copy of from the Department of Mining in Windhoek years ago, shows both mines as two distinctive sites, and, closer to the coast, a point marked as ' prospecting trenches'. It may be that these trenches yielded some positive result which led to the digging of the hole now filled with water. The current 'Dead Sea' may however be the 'Molopo mine', but without some detailed research one cannot say.

(6) Mining operations appear to have taken place in the area from about 1965 to 1990, when many of the places were abandoned. There are these days quite a few interesting documents available on the Internet. I will post another message on the other discussion groups, with details where these documents can be obtained from. None of them specifically refer to the site, presumably to discourage visitors from trying to find the sites. Many lie in the coastal conservation area. I think that sites like this should be placed on record and the history established if possible. Then the best possible tracks need to be recorded to prevent persons from indiscriminately driving all over the place looking for them. The info is out there somewhere in dusty mining company files, as you will see from some of the documents I have over the years collected the hard way. Now just about all of them are on the Internet anyway'.

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