The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives
The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

Martian landscape in the heart of Spain

Minas de Riotinto, Spain

We are talking about over 5000 years of mining history in this area. The landscape has been changed forever, and it looks at some places like a alien planet where red, yellow, purple mingle with green, gray and ocher.

The ten abandoned trains account that the site today are only a small part of this industrial landscape that has been suddenly stopped in 1974. At its peak, there was more than 150 trains who were traversing the long and winding road which stretched over 84 km. Each train had between 20 and 50 cars full of pyrite.

The mine located in the town of Minas de Riotinto, as we know it today, began operating in 1875 and stopped almost 100 years later. Today, if the plant is closed, a museum exists on the site.

Related content

The Purple rain
The Madeleine islands, Quebec (Canada)

The Madeleine islands are an eleven islands archipelago in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While most are interconnected by bridges or dams, some are isolated and far away from the main land.

The islands are known for their...

Mortal Kombat
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

Located on the banks of the Canal Lachine, the old  Cie de recyclage de papier de Montréal inc. factory have been destroyed in part since 2009. Today, there are only the old building located behind the front store who is still there.

When...

The Stanley Tools abandoned plant
Roxton Pond, Quebec (Canada)

This is the result of a combination of circumstances which led the Stanley Tools company to settle in the region rather than elsewhere in Canada. In 1858, a man known as Sem Dalpe decided to settle in Roxton Pond because there was a strong...

The old board mill
Estrie, Quebec (Canada)

It was October 3, 2014 when it has been heard for the last time the siren for the end of the work shift. The last 180 employees picked up their belongings and closed the door behind them, thus ending an industrial history of over 125 years.

...