São Domingos Mine, Mértola, Portugal
N 37° 40.166 W 007° 29.723
29S E 632696 N 4170203
The São Domingos Mine is located approximately 17 km NE of Mértola, in the heart of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. It takes its name from the village of the same name where the mine is located.
Waymark Code: WM1Q4B
Location: Portugal
Date Posted: 06/21/2007
Views: 100
Taken from Wikipedia:
The Sao Domingos Mine is a deserted open-pit pyrite mine in Sao Domingos in Portugal. This site is one of the surfacing massive sulphide deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, that extends from the south of Portugal into Spain. The Romans have been mining in the Sao Domingos area for gold and silver for about 400 years. Mining stopped here when the Romans left. In 1855 mining was resumed, as the international demand for copper grew during the Industrial Revolution. The mining concession was leased for 50 years to an English mining company, Mason & Barry, because of their industrial mining expertise. They switched from tunnel mining to open pit mining. Copper ore was the main product of the mine; in addition, pyrite was mined as a source of sulphur. About 25 megaton of ore has been extracted until the mine was closed in 1966.
Mine Type: Abandoned Mine
Mineral Collecting: Yes
Material Mined: Non-Precious Metal
Operation: Opencast Mine
Surface Features: Yes
KNOWN DANGERS:
Beware of the water. There are some ponds with acid water. There are some cliffs, too.
Any associated website: [Web Link]
Any Other information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Optional photograph welcomed.