Geologists examining the soil around the abandoned open-pit Sao Domingos Mine in Corte do Pinto, Alentejo, Portugal.
Wikipedia: The São Domingos Mine is a deserted open-pit mine in Corte do Pinto, Alentejo, Portugal. This site is one of the volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, which extends from the southern Portugal into Spain. It was the first place in Portugal to have electric lighting. The Romans mined in the São Domingos area for gold and silver for about 400 years. Mining stopped here when the Romans left. In 1854 Nicolau Biava, an Italian miner from Piedmont, Italy, staked a claim to the mine; ownership then passed to a French syndicate. In 1855 mining was resumed, as the international demand for copper grew during the Industrial Revolution. In 1859 the mining concession was leased for 50 years to an English mining company, Mason and Barry, run by Sir Francis Barry, 1st Baronet and his brother-in-law James Mason, because of their industrial mining expertise. The nearby port of Pomarão was inaugurated the same year. Known as Pomaron in England, this inland port was specially constructed on the River Guadiana, which here forms the border with Spain, to serve the mine. In 1862 an 11-mile (18 km) railway, of three foot-six inch gauge, was opened connecting the mine to Pomarão. From Pomarão ore was exported, mostly to England, by ship. Pomarão was destroyed in a disastrous flood on 6–8 December 1876, and subsequently rebuilt. Mason and Barry switched from tunnel mining to open-pit mining in 1867. Copper ore was initially the main product of the mine; but at the end of World War I, sulphuric acid became much more important, so pyrite was mined as a source of sulfur, and this proved to eventually be the downfall of the entire region. Because of the large quantities of water required for the smelting and purification of the sulfur, the water was turned into a sulfuric acid solution, which then leached into the ground, contaminating a large area around the mine.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: São Domingos Mine, Corte do Pinto, Alentejo, Portugal.
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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