The Okiep mine is one of the oldest and largest workings in the Namaqualand copper district of South Africa. The Namaqualand mining district was discovered in 1685 and the first South African mining company was formed there in 1852. Mining in the district continued until the early 21st Century (at Nababeep). The Okeip mine has a Cornish engine house dating from 1882, which contains the only remaining Cornish beam engine (50 inch) in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately it has been damaged recently by the theft of parts of the engine for scrap metal. There is the hope engine and some of the other mining remains in the district could be preserved as an eco-museum and the district is also on the tentative World Heritage Site list for South Africa.