Monday 2 September 2019

Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija

This property includes the mining sites of Almadén (Spain) and Idrija (Slovenia). Together they represent the two largest mercury mines in the world


Idrija
This postcard was sent by Stasa

Idrija is a town in western Slovenia. (...) It is located in the traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral and is in the Gorizia Statistical Region. It is notable for its mercury mine with stores and infrastructure, as well as miners' living quarters, and a miners' theatre.
Mercury was discovered in Idrija (known as Idria under Austrian rule) in the late 15th century (various sources cite 1490, 1492, and 1497). Mining operations were taken over by the government in 1580. The mineral idrialite, discovered here in 1832, is named after the town. - in: wikipedia


Almadén's Mine
This postcard was sent by Javier

Almadén is a town and municipality in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real.
The mercury deposits of Almadén account for the largest quantity of liquid mercury metal produced in the world. Approximately 250,000 metric tons of mercury have been produced there in the past 2,000 years.
Almaden mine stopped working in 2002, due to the prohibition of mercury mining in Europe. In 2006, the mine opened to the public, who can visit the first level, 50 meters underground. - in: wikipedia

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