Mina de Sao Domingos
| Mina de Sao Domingos | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Basic data | ||||||
| Region : | Alentejo | |||||
| Sub-region : | Baixo Alentejo | |||||
| District : | Be yes | |||||
| Concelho : | Mertola | |||||
| Freguesia : | Corte do Pinto | |||||
| Coordinates : | 37 ° 40 ′ N , 7 ° 30 ′ W | |||||
Mina de São Domingos is a historical mining town in the municipality of Corte do Pinto in the district of Mértola in the Alentejo / Portugal .
The mine is located in the center of a geological sulfur gravel layer that runs through the entire south of the Iberian Peninsula ( pyrite belt of the South Iberian Peninsula ). The now closed mines Mina de Canal Caveira , Mina de Lousal , Aljustrel and the still producing mine Mina de Neves Corvo are located on the same pyrite layer . In Spain , the famous Minas de Riotinto built on the pyrite belt.
The total output is estimated at 25 million tons of pyrite-containing rock in São Domingos. This rock had about 45% sulfur content ; the copper and zinc content was 1.25 and 3%, respectively.
history
The history of the Mina de São Domingos goes back to the Phoenicians , who extracted gold and silver from the ore in addition to copper . The second mining period goes back to the Roman Empire between 12 and 397 AD. During this time, the mine was expanded to a depth of 40 meters. The total output during this period is estimated at around 750,000 tons of copper ore.
Industrial exploitation of the deposit began in 1858 by Manson and Barry , who founded the Sabina Mining Company , which operated the mine until it was closed in 1966. This ended copper mining in this area. These were opencast mines with a depth of up to 120 m and civil engineering that reached a depth of up to 400 m. With the closure of the mine, the decline of the formerly prosperous mining town of São Domingos began, large parts of the population became unemployed and lost their existence due to the closure, as in other southern Portuguese mining towns mentioned above, whose mines were closed during this time.
Railway line Mina de São Domingos – Pomarão
To transport the ore, a railway line was built that was operated exclusively by the mining company for freight traffic. The route had a total length of approx. 15 km. A loading station was built in the river port of Pomarão , the terminus of the railway line on the Guadiana River . The route was also discontinued in 1966.
Environmental damage
The Sabina Mining Company left the mine in 1966 without taking appropriate measures to remediate the environmental damage that had already occurred. The situation has since taken on worrying forms in terms of groundwater pollution. The accumulated heaps of the mine are estimated at several 100,000 tons. In addition to a high proportion of sulphide, they also contain wall remains and other mining waste. Efflorescence from secondary sulphates such as melanterite and jarosite are visible in many places today and pollute the groundwater. The remaining open pit holes are filled with water that also contains high levels of metal - especially iron and copper - with a pH of 2.4 in the strongly acidic range. When it rains heavily, the dissolved sulphates penetrate the nearby river Chança and from there into the Guadiana . This also has a corresponding influence on the landscape and vegetation as well as on the water supply in this area.
Web links
Environmental damage in the area of the former Mina de São Domingos
Remnants of the daytime facilities
View into the open pit
Remnants of the daytime facilities
A steel headframe
Open pit mine, filled with contaminated water
Today's river port of Pomarão
Overview map with São Domingos and the loading terminal
former loading station in Pormarão on the Rio Guadiana
View of the historic ore port of Pormarão on the Rio Guadiana
