The São Domingos Mine is a deserted

open-pit mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ...

in Corte do Pinto,

Mértola Mértola (), officially the Town of Mértola (), is a town and municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately : it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portu ...

municipality,

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

region,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. This site is one of the

volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits, also known as VMS ore deposits, are a type of metal sulfide Ore, ore deposit, mainly copper-zinc which are associated with and produced by volcanic-associated hydrothermal vents in submarine environments ...

s in the

Iberian Pyrite Belt The Iberian Pyrite Belt is a vast geographical area with particular geological features that stretches along much of the south of the Iberian Peninsula, from Portugal to Spain. It is about 250 km long and 30–50 km wide, running northwe ...

, which extends from the southern Portugal into

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was the first place in Portugal to have electric lighting.

History

The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

mined in the São Domingos area for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

for about 400 years. Mining stopped here when the Romans left. In 1854 Nicolau Biava, an Italian miner from

Piedmont, Italy Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Pied ...

, 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 The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. 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 Sir Francis Tress Barry, 1st Baronet, (8 June 1825 – 28 February 1907) was an English businessman who made his fortune from a copper mine in Portugal. Late in his life he became a Conservative Party politician, and sat in the Commons from 189 ...

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 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

became much more important, so

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

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.Mysteries of the Abandoned episode 'Escobar's Castle' As well as this, many of the miners were experiencing the effects of

acidosis Acidosis is a biological process producing hydrogen ions and increasing their concentration in blood or body fluids. pH is the negative log of hydrogen ion concentration and so it is decreased by a process of acidosis. Acidemia The term ac ...

from breathing the

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

fumes in the air, which also settled on any exposed surfaces and caused them to become acidic with the application of moisture of any sort, like dew, rain, or just humidity in the air. This added another level of misery to the miners, as anything they touched had the potential of causing chemical burns. About 25 megatons of ore had been extracted when the mine was closed in 1966 due to the Portuguese government threatening to bring in legislation making companies, especially mining companies, financially responsible for cleaning up their mistakes. This added another level of devastation in the region, as there was now an excess of people out of work due to the mine closure.

Climate

The area around the mine has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

with very hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The station used in the site is no longer active.

Tourism

Since closure the mine has attracted tourists. Many old mine buildings and the open-cast pit remain. The old mining company headquarters has been converted into a hotel. A small museum and archive, the ''casa do mineiro'', in an old miner's cottage, depicts the life of the Portuguese miner. There is also an exhibition in an old cinema. There is an English cemetery, where mine managers and their families, many from

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, are buried. The railway line has been removed but one can still see the trackbed for much of the route.

People from Sao Domingos Mine

* Mercedes Blasco, Actress{{cite web , title=Mercedes Blasco: Uma mulher que acreditou no amor… , url=http://cemsd.pt/mblasco/ , website=Centro de Estudos da Mina de S. Domingos , accessdate=26 September 2020

References

External links

Instituto Gelogicao e Mineiro
- Environmental State:Past and present
geocaching.com
- Mine description
Society of Economic Geologists
- Introduction to the Iberian Pyrite Belt Buildings and structures in Beja District Copper mines in Portugal Iberian Pyritic Belt Open-pit mines Sulfur mines Surface mines in Portugal