Age of the artistic representations: The Modern and Contemporary Periods
General description of the destination: Apart from the mining structures visible throughout the area, the underground mining heritage consists of two mine entrances known as ‘Los túneles de los Moros’. The first is located opposite the ore processing building, and visitors can walk through the first few metres of it. From the gate at the entrance—installed for safety reasons due to frequent rockfalls inside—we can see two figures re-enacting the daily tasks of drilling and chiselling the galena veins. Of the two Moros mines, this first one had a water channel that supplied water to the adjacent washing pits and was shored up with thick oak logs. If we follow the path up the ravine, we reach the spectacular entrance situated next to the San Martín riverbed, which allows us to enter the mines and observe a waterfall that currently floods the lower galleries. In this second mine, we can still see two metal drill holes embedded in the rock, one on the floor at the far right, and another just above it, on the ceiling of what was once an upper gallery that has collapsed. The names of these mine entrances may indicate that, prior to the start of modern mining operations in 1947, there were already old lead mines at these two locations. The introduction of electric compressors and dynamite led to an industrial revival of these old operations. In the past, mines were opened by slowly chiselling away at the rock with iron picks and chisels struck by heavy hammers, and the material was collected in woven esparto baskets and carried out by hand or with the help of donkeys. In the 20th century, dynamite, drills connected to generators and rail-mounted trolleys helped to increase the pace of work and the volume and quality of production. Between 1947 and 1958, these mines employed an engineer, a mining surveyor, a chemist, various administrative staff and up to 100 miners (drillers, shoring men, wagon drivers, labourers, wheelbarrow operators, maintenance and workshop staff, electricians, a mining engineer and a chemist, in addition to administrative and other support staff). The precarious and harsh conditions in these mines were severe, and the lack of protection for the miners—who had only flimsy cloth masks to prevent them from breathing in the harmful dust laden with heavy metals produced after each blast—meant that lung diseases were common. In addition to galena sulphide, ferric ochres were also extracted for the manufacture of red and yellow mineral pigments, and manganese oxide for the production of black pigments. In 1950, 696 net tonnes of lead were produced.
History of the site: The presence of galena and silver in this area has been known for a long time. It is possible that the name ‘the Moors’ tunnels’ given to the mine entrances that can be visited today has something to do with this ancient history, given that, in rural areas, sites of great antiquity were traditionally referred to as ‘of the Gentiles’ or ‘of the Moors’. In any case, the first documented reference to the existence of mines in the Jubera area dates back to 1588, in a document issued by a certain Juan de Heredia. As early as 1783, a number of concessions were granted for lead mining in this area, although it appears that the venture was not particularly profitable in practice and led to some unrest between local workers and people from the court who had come with the aim of enriching themselves through the mining operations. In 1874, a company from Madrid drilled into one of the mines, albeit on a modest scale. In 1889, a new concessionaire excavated up to 400 metres of tunnels and shafts.
Museographic resources description: We find ourselves in the midst of an industrial archaeological landscape, dominated by ruins and the remains of facilities designed to extract, store, process and package the ore. Visible here are the entrances to disused mine galleries, storage areas, washing plants, hoppers, the ruins of the buildings used for processing and packaging galena sulphide, and even the remains of offices and other ancillary structures. The ore extracted here is scattered throughout the limestone that makes up the hillside on which we stand. In these rocks, in addition to galena, there is also silver, albeit in modest quantities, which means that, nowadays, its extraction is not profitable. Nowadays, following the installation of safety and security measures, as well as interpretive resources, it is possible to visit this site, situated in a natural landscape of great beauty which also benefits from various forms of environmental protection, given that we are in a special bird protection area and, moreover, within the Biosphere Reserve comprising the valleys of the rivers Leza, Jubera, Cidacos and Alhama.
