Bushiribana and Balashi are the sites of two former gold

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

s on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

Bushiribana

The

Aruba Island Gold Mining Company Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

built the Bushiribana smelter in 1825 to extract gold from the ore that was being mined in the nearby hills of Ceru Plat; it operated for ten years. Today, its remains are a stopping-off point for tourists on their way to view the

Aruba Natural Bridge The Aruba Natural Bridge was a tourist attraction in Arikok National Park, Aruba that was formed naturally out of coral limestone. It collapsed on 2 September 2005. The natural arch, measuring approximately high and long, was the remnant of an ...

, which collapsed on September 2, 2005.

Balashi

In 1899, the

Aruba Gold Concessions Company Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

built a gold smelter at Balashi, at the southern end of

Frenchman's Pass Frenchman's Pass is a narrow passage on the island of Aruba, between coral cliffs above the area known as Spanish Lagoon. From the pass one can see the remains of the Balashi Gold Mine. Legend has it that French pirate Piracy is an act ...

. In 1916 during the First World War, it closed for lack of raw materials and spare parts, as most of them came from Germany. In 1933, a sea water

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

plant was constructed at

Balashi Bushiribana and Balashi are the sites of two former gold smelters on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Bushiribana The Aruba Island Gold Mining Company built the Bushiribana smelter in 1825 to extract gold from the ore that was being mined in the ...

References

{{coord missing, Netherlands Buildings and structures in Aruba History of Aruba Gold mining