municipality of Puente de Domingo, Florez, in the province of Léon.
These properties are well situated on the banks of the river Sil and its
tributaries, and are very accessible, being close to the railway station
of Ponferada. The alluvial deposits cover almost the whole of the area
of the concession. The average of the assays made of the alluvial
deposits give five dwts. of gold per cubic yard; but the engineers state
that, taking the average at only one and a-half dwts. per cubic yard,
these properties ought to give a large return per annum.
THE MORALEJA GOLD-BEARING ALLUVIAL CONCESSION.
This is another company that has been formed for the purpose of working
alluvial gold mines in Spain, and there are good indications that their
enterprise will be crowned with success. The two properties known as
Barbantes and Acha, comprising 208 acres in the province of Orense, have
already been tested, with the most satisfactory results. The engineers
have based their calculations on the uniform depths of the deposits of
fifteen feet, but in most places they are far deeper, and it is reported
that nearly the whole of the ground will pay well to work. The tests
have given an average return of five dwts. of gold per cubic yard; but
the facilities for working and handling the ore are so favourable that
if only a quarter of that estimate is realised, the profits of the
company will be enormous.
THE LUGO GOLDFIELDS.
The Lugo Goldfields, Limited, has acquired three groups of properties in
the province of Lugo (Galicia). These concessions, which are situated on
the main road to Madrid, and twenty-six miles from Lugo, consist of 525
acres of quartz country and alluvial property seventy-five acres in
extent, which contain strong evidences that the Romans, during their
occupation of the Peninsula, washed from it large quantities of alluvial
gold. On the first group, broad gold-bearing quartz reefs, which
increase in width from six feet to twenty-four feet as depth is reached,
have been traced for many miles on each side of the property; and on the
second group the reefs are highly mineralised, and contain gold, silver,
copper, and lead. The reefs are situated in hills rising from 350 feet
to 450 feet above the river-bed, which will enable the ore to be run out
of the galleries by means of trucks on rails, and so save, for some
considerable time at least, the initial outlay and annual expenditure
entailed by the erection and maintenance of pumping and haulage
machinery. In taking the samples of stone for assay, good, bad, and
indifferent stone was included, and the calculations as to the value of
the ore was based on a minimum extraction of five dwts. of gold per ton.
The assays gave returns varying from three dwts. two grs. up to sixteen
dwts. eight grs., and the ore has been tested to be eminently adapted
for concentration. Water, labour, and timber present no difficulties,
and the working of the mines should be carried on at a low cost. It is
estimated that the expense of mining the ore, delivering the
concentrates in Swansea, and paying the charges for treatment there,
will amount to 10s. per ton of ore crude, which means that two and
a-half dwts. of pure ore will pay all expenses.
SILVER-LEAD.
THE SANTA MARIA MINING COMPANY, LIMITED, SILVER-LEAD MINES (BADAJOZ,
SPAIN).
[Illustration: LAS PALMAS BRIDGE, BADAJOZ.]
Among the most important of the silver-lead properties in Spain, mention
has been made to the group in the province of Badajoz that has been
floated in London under the title of the Santa Maria Mining Company,
Limited. This property, which originally consisted of four leases,
having an area of 138 acres, has been since increased to 166 acres, by
the acquisition of the Santa Florentina lease at Mestanza, Puertollano,
in the neighbouring province of Ciudad-Real. So far as the position of
the Santa Maria property is concerned, it could not easily be bettered.
It is only six miles distant from the railway system, with which it is
connected by two good roads, and is situated quite near to the
Rothschilds’ Smelting Works at Peñarroya. Timber is procurable at a
cheap rate from Cuenca and Portugal; there is an abundance of water
obtainable for all mining purposes; while labour, which is obtained from
two villages in the vicinity, is cheap, plentiful, and efficient.
The history of the Santa Maria group presents, as do so many other mines
in Spain, an object lesson in mismanagement and wilful disregard for the
future of the property. It was first opened in 1845 by a Portuguese
Company, and it is abundantly proved from the reports of their
consulting engineer, and from the condition in which the mines was left,
that the work could not have been conducted in a more haphazard and
destructive fashion. No attention was given to exploration or
development work; and, doubtless, acting under peremptory orders, all
labour was concentrated on the extraction of the rich available ore. The
shaft, instead of being perpendicular, was sunk at a vertical angle, and
was so badly timbered that it was always in a dangerous condition. The
galleries, being left without sufficient supports, frequently collapsed,
and work was conducted at imminent risk of life to the miners. The
official figures showing the quantity of ore won by the adoption of
these methods are not available, but the great heaps of débris which
have accumulated show that the amount was something very considerable;
and it was not until 1889, when the policy of ore-grabbing could no
longer be safely proceeded with until money had been spent in repairing
the shaft and the workings, that the mine was abandoned and became
flooded up to the first level.
During this time the Santa Maria lode was worked by its faulty shaft
down to the seventh level, but the dressing of the ore was so defective
that the dumps are found to contain nearly five per cent. of galena.
From this refuse the present management have been obtaining from ten to
twelve tons of “dressed” ore per month, giving fifty-five per cent. of
lead and 600 grammes of silver per ton.
When Señor Villanova purchased the property in 1889 he took from the
first level of the Santa Maria shaft about 100 tons of ore, which gave a
return of seventy-five per cent. of lead and 850 grammes of silver per
ton; and, then, in order to avoid the expense of unwatering the mine and
repairing the shaft, he decided to confine his operations to the San
Juan shaft, upon which little work had been done. The winding engine was
accordingly removed and re-erected at this shaft, which was sunk to a
depth of about 540 feet. Six levels were driven, in each of which the
lode was found to be mineralised throughout. Señor Villanova continued
to work the mine on the principle of making it entirely self-supporting.
No exploration or dead-work was undertaken, and when a fault was
encountered in the eastern levels the pursuit of the vein was abandoned.
This fault has since been cut through in all the levels, and the lode
has in every case been found to continue on the other side. The property
was starved for working capital, no cross-cutting was allowed on account
of the outlay it would involve, and the stoping was only carried on
where the mineral was rich. Yet even under these conditions Señor
Villanova extracted from this shaft alone over 3,000 tons of ore, which
yielded him substantial profits.
When the present company took over the mine they were advised that both
the Santa Maria and the San Juan lodes could be better and more
economically worked by means of the Santa Maria shaft, and they decided
to have this shaft unwatered and put into thorough repair down to the
bottom level. The shaft had to be enlarged and galleries cleared, and
all the workings retimbered. These operations, although vigorously
prosecuted, took longer than was anticipated.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE CASTLE, PONFERRADA.]
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW, LINARES.]
Twelve years of neglect had reduced this part of the mine to such a
condition that the task of clearing the congested galleries was not only
difficult but highly dangerous. The timber with which the workings were
fortified was so rotten that the removal of the rubble brought down the
woodwork with it. The old supports had consequently to be replaced by
new timber as the work progressed; and as the galleries were constructed
on a small scale, the want of space rendered it impossible to employ a
large number of hands. At the same time all the buildings and the
masonry work on the property, which had also fallen into decay, were
repaired or rebuilt; the old engine-house at the San Juan shaft was
replaced by a substantial building, tram-lines and trucks were
purchased, the roads were overhauled and repaired, and the property was
completely equipped and put into thorough working order. Yet in spite of
all this dead work, the exploitation of Santa Maria has never been a
severe charge upon the company, for the return of ore per month from the
San Juan lode was sufficient to defray all the expenses incurred in
development, and to return a profit on the mine. During the early part
of last year the Peñarroya works were being rebuilt and enlarged, and
the ore had to be sold at Carthagena; but since the reopening of the
works the whole of the output has been purchased locally, and a
considerable saving has been effected thereby.
COAL.
It has been already stated that the production of coal in Spain is quite
insignificant in comparison with the extent of the coal-bearing beds
(which are estimated to cover an area of about 3,500 square miles, of
which nearly a third belongs to Oviedo); but the new find of coal
(lignite) and cement stone in the province of Lerida should, and
undoubtedly will, draw attention to this profitable industry. The
Almatret Mines, which have an area of 820 acres, are situated on the
river Elbro, near Fayon, on the main railway from Madrid to Barcelona.
In each of the eight seams, which are distinctly visible on the
property, the lignite is much decomposed, and the outcrops contain a
great deal of gypsum. This has effloresced, and the seams present a very
different appearance from that of lignite. On cutting into the beds,
however, the infiltrations of the gypsum soon disappears. The workings,
which are very limited, had been carried out without any system, and
much of the lignite had been lost in winning. The quality of the lignite
is very satisfactory. It keeps well, and burns with a long flame. Owing
to the exceptional conditions under which these deposits can be
worked--the seams lying horizontally, and being entirely free from water
or deleterious gases--no shafts are required, and the ventilation is a
very simple matter. The question of transport is stated to be the chief
element of a successful exploitation of these mines, and it will be
necessary to construct a light railway to reduce the cost of the present
system. The probable profit on the lignite, according to expert’s
reports, will depend on the ruling price of coal in Spain: this is
determined by that of Cardiff coal and the rate of freight. The
calcareous layers are, in several places, comprised of highly aluminius
and siliceous limestone, forming a natural cement stone. One of the beds
of this material has been exploited in former years for the manufacture
of a cement which was somewhat largely used in Lerida for house
construction, &c. A cement of this quality is highly suited for
constructive work, such as floors, staircases, water tanks, &c., for
which very large quantities are used in Spain. It is not, of course,
equal to a true Portland cement; but when the various layers of cement
stone have been examined and analysed, several of them will be found to
approximate very closely to the composition required for giving the true
Portland cement. The quantity of cement stones which exist on the
property is enormous. In fact, it may be said to be practically
inexhaustible.
I have referred in detail to these Almatret Mines because they
demonstrate the truth of the contention that the coal districts of Spain
are not, as has been erroneously accepted, confined to the province of
Oviedo; although, up to the present, little mining has been done outside
the Asturian coal basin. Even here the rate of progress is lamentably
slow. Lack of capital, which has hitherto retarded the increase of
mechanical facilities and railway construction, is now being overcome,
and it is confidently expected that a material advance is imminent.
Every class of coal is obtainable in this district; and the seams, which
vary from two and a-half feet to over six feet in thickness, are being
worked by galleries in the mountain sides. In only one instance is the
pit system in practice; and the whole of the coal below the level of the
base of the mountain is virgin ground, which will ultimately be
exploited by deep workings. But it is highly improbable that this
profitable industry will be undertaken by the present owners, who, for
want of the necessary capital, will, in a large number of cases, suspend
operations when they have exhausted the coal from their lower galleries.
Valuable concessions will then come into the market at “knock-out”
prices; and if British capitalists desire to be associated with the
highly-promising enterprise, they will have to seize the opportunity
before the French and Belgian investors step in. For, despite their
comparative failure in the past, the French capitalists are more keenly
alive than their English rivals to the enormous possibilities of Spanish
mining, and Spanish money is now coming forward as an earnest of the
rejuvenated spirit of enterprise which careful observers have already
noted in the spirit of the country.
In the foregoing pages I have outlined, in the barest fashion, the
history of the mining industry of Spain from its genesis, and I have
cited instances of modern development with the object of proving that in
Spain of to-day we have at once one of the most backward and most
promising mineral countries in Europe, if not in the world. I have not
attempted to exhaust the list of mines that are in full operation at the
present time, but have contented myself with giving some particulars
about representative properties--properties which, for the most part,
have come under my own immediate notice, and several of which I have
visited more than once. My experience compels me to the conclusion that
Spanish mining offers more and better opportunities for the investment
of British capital than that of any other country with which I am
acquainted, and I treasure the hope that a closer union will be welded
between England and Spain by the common bond of a mutual interest in her
mineral development.
_E. Goodman & Son, Phœnix Printing Works, Taunton._
INDEX.
Aben Cencid, 128
African Spain, 86
Avila, 114
Albaycin, The, 136
Alcázar (Toledo), 100
Alfonso VI., 102
Alfonso XIII., 254, _et seq._
Alhambra, The, 122, _et seq._
Alicante, 84, _et seq._
Alluvial Gold Washing in Spain, 300, _et seq._
Alonso II., 203
Alonso el Sabio, 93
Alonso V., 210
Almadén, 119
Alva Garcia, 115
American in Spain, The, 12
Arab Mining Enterprise, 281
Aragonese, 219
Aranjuez, Palace of, 49
Armeria Real (Madrid), 30
Bailen, 93
Barcelona, 50, _et seq._
Barcelona, Labour Riots in, 58
Basque Provincia, The, 180, _et seq._
Beariz and its Tin Mines, 294, 330, _et seq._
Beggars in Spain, 155
Bicycle in Spain, The, 87
Bilbao, 189, _et seq._
Bombita-chico, 234
Borrow, George, 7
Bull-Fighting, 38, 220, _et seq._
Burgos, 108, _et seq._
Cadiz, 164, _et seq._
Cadmus, 269
Carthagena, 88
Carthaginian Miners in Spain, 270
Castellon, 77
Castiles, The, 108, _et seq._
Catalans, The, 53, _et seq._
Cervantes, 116
Charles the Fifth, 124
Children in Spain, 87, 156
Christ in Burgos Cathedral, The, 110
Cid, The, 102, 111
Coal and Cement Mines of Spain, The, 300, 341
Cobham, Lord, 204
Colon Cape (Barcelona), 29
Colonial Possessions, Loss of, 3
Columbus Memorial (Barcelona), 67
Contreras Rafael, 128
Cooking in Spain, 34
Córdova, 103, _et seq._
Coruña, 199, _et seq._
Coruña Copper Mines, The, 329
Crime in Spain, 175
Cuba, 3
Cuenca, 119
Cuidad-Real, 116
Dances, 39, _et seq._
De Amicis E., 25, 106, 127, 253
Decline of Carthaginian Influence, 275
Didorus, 271
Don Carlos, 189
Don Pedro, 210
Don Quixote, 103
Drake, Sir Francis, 204
Elche, 86, 88
English in Spain, The, 11
Escorial, The, 43, _et seq._
Escurial Copper Mines, 293, 307, _et seq._
Espadeno, 77
Esparto Grass, 85
Ferdinand and Isabella, 116, 134
Ferdinand VI., 218
Festival of San Isidro del Campo, 41
Ford, Richard, 101, 159, 163
Francisco Herrera, 218
Frascuelo, 234
Fuentes, 236
Galicia, 195, _et seq._
Gallenga, 71
Gijon, 208
Gold-bearing Alluvials of Spain, 300, _et seq._
Goya, 241
Granada, 122, 134, _et seq._
_Guardia Civil_, 60
Guerrita, 239
Gypsies, 136
Herrera, Juan de, 43
Hiendelæncina Silver Mine, The, 296
_Hotel de Paris_ (Madrid), 26, 34
Huércal Copper-cobalt Mines, 293, 319, _et seq._
Huecar, The, 119
Huerta of Alicante, The, 85
Imperial Cafe (Madrid), 29
Infanta Isabel, 262
Iron Industry, 287
Irun, 185
Jaén, 94
John of Gaunt, 199
Juan the Second, 116
Jucar, The, 119
Kingston Gold Mines, The, 336
La Correspondencia, 38
La Granja, 112
La Mancha, 93
La Princesa de Asturias, 263
La Union, 91
León, 209, 212, _et seq._
_Libro de Oro_, 47
Liebert Wolters, 289
Lomas, John, 95, 150
Lorenzana, Cardinal, 102
Lorenzo, Bishop, 204
Louis de Débonnaire, 77
Lugo, 207
Lugo Goldfields, The, 337
Madrid, 10, _et seq._
_Madrileño, El_, 21
Madrid, Climate of, 14
Malaga, 171, _et seq._
Maria Christina, 254, 258, 263
Mazantini, 235
Medina Az-zahra, 107
Mendicancy in Spain, 155
Mining Enterprise in the Middle Ages, 286
Mining in Spain, 271, _et seq._
Miño River, 204, 207
Monserrat, 70, _et seq._
Moraleja Gold-bearing Alluvial Concession, The, 336
Muleteers, 161, _et seq._
Murcia, 83, _et seq._
Murcians, The, 92
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban, 152, 167, 246
Murviedro (Sanguntum), 77
Nava Cerrada, 113
Newspapers in Madrid, 38
Northern Spain, In, 195, _et seq._
Nuevalos, 218
Officialism in Spain, 6, 160
Ordoño I., 210
Ordoño II., 211
Orense, 204
Orense and the Tin Industry, 294
Oriedo, 208
Oviedo, 196
_Palacio Real_, (Madrid), 14
_Pantano de Tibi_, 85
Páramo Alluvial Gold Fields, 305, 335
Pasajes de San Juan, 183
_Pasco de Gracia_, 64
Pelota, 183
Philip II., 2, 43
Philip the Fifth, 112
Phœnicians in Galicia, 199
Phœnician Miners in Spain, 270
Picture Gallery, The (Madrid), 30, 241, _et seq._
Pontevedra, 203
Pontevedra Tin Mines, The, 333
Posting, 161, _et seq._
_Puchero_, 37
_Puerta del Diablo_, 114
_Puerta del Sol_, 22, _et seq._
Rafael Contreras, 128
Ramon of Burgundy, 115
Railway Travelling, 157, _et seq._
_Rambla_, The, 63
Recompensa Copper Mines, 318
Rio Rimal Copper Mines, 326, _et seq._
Rio Tinto Mines, 288, _et seq._
Roman Conquest of Spain, 277, 279, _et seq._
Roman Gold-washing Operations, 300
Ronda, 175, _et seq._
Roque Barcia, 91
Royal Palace (Madrid), 33
Sagasta, 264
St. Ferdinand, 93, 94
St. James the Apostle, 203
St. Lawrence, 44
Salamanca, 209, 213
Sanguntum (Murviedro), 77
San Isidro del Campo, Festival of, 41
San Sebastian, 185
Santa Lucia, 91
Santa Maria Silver-lead Mines, 299, 338
Santiago, 200, _et seq._
Segovia, 113, _et seq._
_Sereno, El_, 203
Seville, 141, _et seq._
Sevillians, The, 142
Sierra Nevada, 103
Silver-Lead Mining in Spain, 297 _et seq._
Silver Mines of Spain, The, 296
Singing in Spain, 69
Slaves as Miners, 271, 279
_Soko, El_, 96
Somorrosto Range, 193
Southern Andalusia, In, 164, _et seq._
Spain (Her Position To-day), 8
Spain’s Mineral Resources, 283
Spaniards as Miners, 312
Spaniards, The, 6, _et seq._
Spanish-American War, 6, 56
Spanish Courtesy, 59
Spanish Mining, 271, _et seq._
Spanish Mining Regulations, 319
Spanish Tin Corporation’s Mines, The, 333
Spanish Pride, 3
Spanish Provincialism, 53
Spanish Wines, 75
Sport, 38, 183
Tagus, The, 101
Tarragona, 73
Temperance Question, The, 25
Tharsis Mines, 291
Theatres, 40
Theodimah, 84
Theophile Gautier, 105, 127
Tin Mines of Spain, The, 295
Toledo, 95, _et seq._
Toledo, Juan Bautista de, 43
Tortosa, 76
Trading Spirit, The, 54
Truimfo Mine, The, 297
Valencia, 81, _et seq._
_Velo_, The, 21
Ventura Rodriguex, 218
Velasquez, 242
Vigo, 204
Webster, Rev. Wentworth, 2
Wörmann, 98
Zahira, 107
Zaragoza, 217, _et seq._
[Illustration: THE SURRENDER OF GRANADA BY BOABDIL TO FERDINAND AND
ISABELLA, 1492.]
[Illustration: CONVENT OF SAN JUAN DE LA PENITENCIA, TOLEDO.]
[Illustration: A CORNER IN THE MOSQUE, CÓRDOVA.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE, CÓRDOVA.]
[Illustration: GRANADA.
THE ALHAMBRA AND THE SIERRA NEVADA.]
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFFE.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: THE DOOR OF JUSTICE.]
[Illustration: THE CANTIVA AND CADID TOWERS.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: LITTLE EASTERN TEMPLE, IN THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN IN THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: THE CAPTIVE’S TOWER.]
[Illustration: THE SULTAN’S BATH.]
[Illustration: THE DRESSING ROOM.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE COURT OF MYRTLES.]
[Illustration: A LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: THE DRESSING ROOM.]
[Illustration: A PEEP INTO THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF LIONS.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: THE COURT OF MYRTLES.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: WASHINGTON IRVING HOTEL.]
[Illustration: ENTRANCES TO THE ALHAMBRA.]
THE ALHAMBRA.
[Illustration: ROMAN COURT, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
[Illustration: PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
THE GENERALIFFE, GRANADA.
[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT.]
THE GENERALIFFE, GRANADA.
[Illustration: CYPRUS COURT]
[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE ACEQUIA COURT]
VIEWS OF THE GENERALIFFE, GRANADA.
[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT.]
[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE ACEQUIA COURT.]
[Illustration: GRANADA.
A STREET IN GRANADA.]
[Illustration: ARAB SILK MARKET.]
[Illustration: GRANADA.
THE LADIES’ TOWER, THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: THE GIPSY QUARTERS.]
[Illustration: THE ROYAL CHAPEL, GRANADA CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL TOWER, CORDOVA.]
End of Project Gutenberg's Impressions of Spain, by Albert F. Calvert