The town administers three villages: Chiuzbaia (Kisbánya), Satu Nou de Sus (Felsőújfalu), and Tăuții de Sus (Giródtótfalu). Neighbouring communities are the city of Baia Mare and the communes Groși, Dumbrăvița, Șisești, and Desești.
The town was one of the most important mining centers in north-western Romania, exploitation of gold and silver being mentioned in documents written in the Middle Ages, during the time when the Saxons colonized the region. However, recent administrative changes and restructuring of the Romanian mining industry brought this activity to an almost complete halt.
History
The first written mention of the settlement dates back to 1329 as "Civitas in medio monte", in 1406 as "civitas Medii Montis", in 1390, 1452, 1455 as "civitas Felsevbanya", and since 1523 as Felsőbánya. The old Romanian name of the town was Baia de Sus, which means "Upper Mine", same as in Hungarian.
The 1850 census, conducted in German, recorded 5,427 inhabitants, representing 1,336 families living in 993 houses. As for the nationalities existing at that time, the Hungarians numbered 3,800, Romanians 1,093, Germans 333, Slovaks 140, and Roma 40. In the 1910 census, the following languages were spoken in the township: Hungarian language 93.8%, Romanian language 5.2%, and others 1.0%. At the same census, the following religions were represented: Roman Catholic 52.1%, Greek Catholic 28.1%, Calvinist 13.3%, Judaism 6.1%, and others 0.5%.