Impressions of Spain

by Albert Frederick Calvert

The Copper Mines of Escurial.

Some of the most prominent and promising of the newly-acquired copper properties in Spain are those of the Escurial district, of which mention has been made. Here, at a spot situated within thirty miles of Madrid, at the end of an hour-and-a-quarter’s train journey, is a district which promises to take rank among the leading copper-producing areas. Yet until some two years ago the properties were practically being ruined by the starvation policy of the Spanish owners, who obtained excellent results by following the richest of the leaders until a little expenditure was required to further prosecute the work, and then abandoned them. The Romans, who would appear from the evidences of their workings to have been the original miners at Escurial, carried out their developments on a large scale; and judging from the immensity and richness of the dumps of ore which they discarded as being too poor to pay for treatment by the primitive methods at their commands, they must have won enormous quantities of very high-grade copper ore. These huge mounds of refuse ore have been assayed to yield about 4 per cent. of copper; and with the modern system of concentration will all give profitable returns. Some of the outhouses and walls on the property are constructed of rich copper ore, and the purplish colour of the loose stones of the road from Galapagar, and on the other roads about the property, are everywhere indicative of the presence of the same mineral. The Romans evidently recognised the value of their mine, for before they vacated the country they carefully filled in all their workings, and obliterated every trace of their activity. The openings to the galleries and the mouths of their shafts were closed up with rubble, but they could not remove the incriminating dumps—the monuments to their energy and the witnesses to the richness of the property.

PORTION OF BUILDINGS, ESCURIAL.

The Romans undoubtedly meant, at a more convenient season, to return to the scene of their labours, as did the Carthaginians and Phœnicians before them; but the fates which govern nations ruled it otherwise. The Visigoths succeeded the Romans; and they in their turn were driven out by the Moors, who dominated the Peninsula for over 800 years. The Moors have left the marks of their greatness, their industry, and their love of art over the entire face of the land; but they have contributed comparatively little to the history of its mining. They certainly did not undertake systematic researches into the mineral resources of the country, and as certainly they did not happen upon the copper caverns which the Ancients had quarried at Escurial.

A CUTTING, ESCURIAL.

The present proprietary, upon taking possession of the property, immediately set to work to have the mine cleared, and all the old workings explored. These operations were attended with many remarkable discoveries, and it seemed as if everything was revealed which had been done by the original proprietors. But Señor Bárris, the modern discoverer of this remarkable property, and a gentleman who combines the erudition of the scholar with an unsurpassed practical knowledge of Spanish mining, was not satisfied. He was convinced that there remained further traces of more recent exploitation to be revealed; so the research was resumed, with the result that during my visit I paid to the property in 1902, some additional deeper workings of Spanish origin were discovered. Only then was Señor Bárris convinced that the end was reached; but even later, I have since learned, a falling-in in one of the levels disclosed the existence of further large ancient workings, and the presence of a mass of magnificent copper ore.

The Spaniards, whoever they were, who had worked the mine for a short period some (approximately) 300 years ago, had been interrupted in their labours by the lack of proper machinery, and had abandoned the pursuit. The walls of the gallery they had excavated had fallen in, rubbish had blocked up the entrance, and the mine had returned to the condition in which it had been left by the Roman discoverers. And, curiously enough, not a single document or record has come to light to reveal the identity of these disappointed adventurers.