Gold mining in Aruba
The gold recovery in Aruba was from 1825 to about 1918, the largest industry on the island of Aruba . In total, around 1735 kg of gold were extracted during this time.
history
Willem Rasmijn, the son of a shepherd, found gold nuggets on the north coast of Aruba in 1824 , triggering a gold rush .
In the area of Rooi Fluit and Rooi Daimari in the north of the island, gold was first soaped off from 1825 . Mining was later operated to get the precious metal. There were wells drilled and surface facilities built. In 1829 mountain freedom was declared. This meant that private individuals could acquire mining rights for a concession of fifteen guilders per year . The award is made by drawing lots. Around 90 kg of gold had been shipped to the Netherlands by 1830.
Aruba Island Gold Mining Company
In 1868 the government of Curacao awarded a 35-year concession to the Aruba Island Gold Mining Company of London . They built a stamping mill and smelter in Bushiribana on the north coast, a pier in the port of Oranjestad and a 6 mile long connecting road between the port and the smelter. The gold ore from the Ceru Plat mine and from the Kristalberg was also processed here. The Aruba Island Gold Mining Company existed until 1882. From 1868 to 1880, 2938 tons of ore were processed and 2075 troy ounces of gold were extracted from it.
Aruba Agency Company
Gold mining ceased from 1883 to 1889, when it was resumed by the Aruba Agency Company. Cyanide leaching was introduced in Bushiribana to increase the yield. In 1890 the Aruba Agency Company went out.
Aruba Gold Concessions Ltd.
Aruba Gold Concessions acquired a 40 year concession in 1899. Bushiribana was closed and a new smelter was built in Balashi . Aruba Gold Concessions operated the Mil Speranza mine , which was a modern gold mine for the time. Fresh weather was blown into the mine workings with a mine ventilator . The ore was treated with a steam carrier in so-called skieps to day promoted. After sorting out coarse stones, the ore was pulled with a locomobiel for further processing to the gold smelter.
Around 1903 there were several smelting furnaces, a crusher and cyanide tanks.
In 1908, Aruba Gold Concessions ceased operations.
Aruba Goud Maatschappij
Aruba Goud Maatschappij took over the concession as well as the plants and mines from Aruba Gold Concessions and operated the mining until the end of the First World War . During the war there was a lack of dynamite, raw materials and chemicals to continue mining and smelting the gold. Shortly after the First World War, the gold mines began to end. The facilities were now out of date and politics in Aruba focused on the "black gold" of the oil refinery in San Nicolas and on the expansion of the port.
After the Second World War , gold mining was attempted again, but without success. The shafts were filled and the winding towers demolished.
Mines
location
The adjacent map from 1885 shows the locations of the gold mines and the respective authorized persons who were determined at that time. The small houses where the miners lived are marked where the capital Oranjestad is today . The main places where gold was found were Daimari, Wacobana, Arikok, Rooi Fluit, Hadicouradi and later Westpunt, where gold ore was also found.
Contemporary witnesses
The remains of the Bushiribana gold smelter from 1872 are in poor condition and just a fascinating ruin that leaves it to the imagination of tourists to imagine the gold rush in Aruba like in the days of the Wild West. At the ruins of the Balashi gold smelter, which was in operation from 1900 to 1916, only the remains of the boilers, cleaning basins and melting furnaces can be found today. The dilapidated tunnels and tunnels in Sero Colorado , in the San Nicolas area , with remnants of the tipping railway from 1879 are still there.
Since the ruins are not a priority for the government of Aruba, the earlier information boards have also disappeared and the remains are subject to further decay.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Arie Wilschut: Oriëntatie in de historical tijd bij leerlingen. (Powerpoint) p. 22 , accessed on March 20, 2015 (Dutch).
- ↑ a b c d e Helen Ross: The ruins at Bushiribana, Aruba circa 1872. (PDF) October 1999, accessed on March 20, 2015 (English).
- ↑ The Gold Mine Ranch Aruba. In: thegoldmineranch.com. Retrieved March 18, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d Historia di Aruba - Gold. In: historiadiaruba.aw. Retrieved March 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Helen Ross: The ruins at Bushiribana, Aruba circa 1872. (PDF) October 1999, p. 3 , accessed on March 20, 2015 (English, Ross writes “1878”, certainly a misprint.).
