Kleinzee

Kleinzee or Kleinsee is a small Village on the west coast of the Northern Cape province in South Africa,

Kleinzee Kleinsee
Kleinzee Show map of Northern Cape Kleinzee Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 29°40′40″S 17°04′12″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	Namakwa
Municipality	Nama Khoi - de Beers
Area [1]
• Total	9.10 km2 (3.51 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	728
• Density	80/km2 (210/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	18.1%
• Coloured	61.1%
• Indian/Asian	1.1%
• White	17.9%
• Other	1.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	89.9%
• English	5.7%
• Xhosa	2.1%
• Other	2.3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
PO box	8282
Area code	027

Kleinzee is a village just south of Grootmis at the mouth of the Buffels River, 72 km south-east of Port Nolloth and 105 km west of Springbok. It is known for its diamond-mining operations. Founded after 1927, the name is Dutch and means 'small sea', referring to a lagoon at the mouth of the Buffels River.[2]

The Buffels River "flows" through Kleinsee, but most of the time it is just a dry river bed and only flows approximately every ten years.

The Primary School does not exist anymore, it is now a Center for learning and Development

Its population size generally consisted of around 2,000 residents, but was considerably reduced by the down-scaling of mining activities in 2009.

Legend tells that a teacher by the name De Villagers from the local farm school had built a new school. He was looking for lime deposits to whitewash the walls. Accompanied by a builder called Alberts he kicked at a mound in the veld and then dislodged a diamond with the toe of his shoe. It was then recorded as the first alluvial diamond found about a year after the discovery of the deposits at Alexander Bay. Within three weeks De Villagers and Alberts collected diamonds worth £600 which was a small fortune in those days. They then sold their claims to an exploration company which eventually opened up the Kleinsee 'crater', reminiscent of the 'Big Hole' at Kimberley. This area then become known as the Diamond Coast.