The municipality of Mazarron is in the province of Murcia in southeastern Spain and is a port town on the Costa Cálida, popular with Spanish holidaymakers. However, there is more to be discovered here: The Mazarron Mines.
Since Roman times there have been mines at Mazarron, in total around 200 — 100 iron ore, 100 lead and silver, 5 copper and 2 alum and ochre mines. They are located in the Sierra San Cristobal at 186 metres and close to the town of Mazarron. The most recent mining activity at the Mazarron Mines was in 1880, and it lasted until 1952.
Mazarron was chosen by the Romans for its mineral deposits and proximity to the coast and Cartagena, which was the centre of distribution. In its late nineteenth-century resurgence, cash poured in from many European investors, including the Rothschilds, and the mines were able to increase their output.
During the last century, the Mazarron Mines gradually began to close, but the San Antonio mine struggled until the early 1960s. Much of the infrastructure remains today, including many of the mine workings and buildings.
Without question, fortunes were made at the Mazarron Mines. But it was a miserable existence for the miners and their children, who were often employed in the mines. As with mining generally, there were safety concerns, and many lives were lost here, including 28 who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 1893.
As you enter the site, multi-coloured tailings are evident on the hillside, and soon you begin seeing the remaining buildings and chimneys. Electricity pylons remain stripped of the cabling, and the site’s vastness unfolds with pit heads visible in the distance. Around the buildings following rain, large crimson pools appear with the rain drawing mineral deposits from the ground.
The Mazarron Mines are a delight for photographers, and a day or two spent here could yield some spectacular results. The derelict buildings, the rusting iron, the mineral pools and the multicoloured tailings are worth much exploration.
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This looks like the sets from the old spaghetti westerns. All you need is your camera and a Clint Eastwood look-a-likey.
I would love to spend time here.
Thanks Dennis, a colourful and informative end to the year.
I spent Christmas 1977 in Murcia, t a colleague’s hometown. I saw the orange groves, the Islamic water woks, and the best paella in all of Span (his mother’s house).
I did not see this; your photos have given me an opportunity to experience something strange and wonderful. Thank you!
Really fantastic and intriguing photos!
I like this type of photography – finding beauty in ugliness.