| Formation | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Type | S.A. |
| Purpose | Mining industry |
| Headquarters | Magtel |
| Location |
Nueva Tharsis is a Spanish mining company based in the town of Tharsis, Huelva, Spain. It is the heir of several of the companies that have been exploiting the deposits of the Tharsis-La Zarza mining basin since the second half of the 19th century.
Nueva Tharsis was created in 1996 as a labor corporation by the workers of Compañía Española de Minas de Tharsis to take over its assets and facilities. [1] [2] Initially, the company aimed to maintain the business of the previous company, although the economic context was not favorable due to the low pyrite prices in the market. In 1999 the FESA-Fertiberia plant announced that it would not renew the mineral purchase contract with Tharsis, [Note 1] which sentenced the activity of the deposits. As a result, the Tharsis railroad and the main facilities in the area were closed to traffic. [3] In view of the poor state of Nueva Tharsis' finances, in 2002 the company proposed the auction of the mining and railway assets, although this eventuality did not materialize in the end. [4] In fact, the company would end up collaborating with public institutions in the conservation and recovery of the railway heritage. [Note 2]
Nueva Tharsis has subsequently reconstituted itself as a public limited company and has taken part in various mining initiatives. In 2018 it was acquired by the Andalusian company Magtel, [5] as part of its foray into the mining sector. Nueva Tharsis, owner of the exploitation rights of the Tharsis and La Zarza deposits, became a shareholder in the company "Tharsis Mining & Metallurgy". There are currently several projects aimed at reopening the mining operations in the area.
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva.
Huelva is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits between the estuaries of the Odiel and Tinto rivers on the Atlantic coast of the Gulf of Cádiz. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 149,410.
Corta Atalaya is the largest open-pit mine in Europe and was at one time the largest in the world. It is located within the city limits of Minas de Riotinto in the province of Huelva, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is roughly elliptical in shape, 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) long, 900 metres (3,000 ft) wide, and 350 metres (1,150 ft) deep. It was one of the most ambitious projects of the Rio Tinto Group. At its peak it employed 2,000 workers mining copper; it was actively mined until 1992. Since at least 1994 it has been flooded up to the 16th ring.
La Zarza mine is an abandoned mine near the town of La Zarza-Perrunal, Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. The deposit is part of the Spanish part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The orebody is 2,900 meters long and up to 100 meters thick. Like most of the volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit in the IPB it contains significant amounts of copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold.
Tharsis is a village that is part of the Alosno municipality in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2013 census, the village has a population of 1,840 inhabitants.
The Port of Huelva is a cargo and fishing port located off the Spanish southwestern coast, belonging to the municipalities of Huelva and Palos de la Frontera. With a total annual traffic capacity of 33.8 million tonnes, it is the second biggest port in Andalusia after the Port of Algeciras.
The Venado Formation is a geological formation of the Agua Blanca Group, in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, cropping out along the Venado River in northern Huila. The sequence of pyrite containing dark grey micaceous shales interbedded with siltstones and sandstones dates to the Ordovician period; Middle to Late Floian epoch, and has a maximum thickness of 670 metres (2,200 ft) in the type section.
The Tharsis Sulphur and Copper Company Limited (TOS) was a British mining company that operated in Spain during the 19th and 20th centuries, dedicated to the extraction and commercialization of pyrites. Throughout its existence, it exploited several deposits located in the Tharsis-La Zarza mining basin.
The Rio Tinto Company Limited (RTC) was one of the founding companies of the Rio Tinto Group conglomerate, which was responsible of the exploitation of the Riotinto-Nerva mining basin in Minas de Riotinto between 1873 and 1954.
The Riotinto Railway was a Spanish narrow-gauge railway line, predominantly used for mining and industry, that operated between 1875 and 1984. During this time it became one of the main railways in the province of Huelva, gaining a large fleet of rolling stock.
The Riotinto-Nerva mining basin is a Spanish mining area located in the northeast of the province of Huelva (Andalusia), which has its main population centers in the municipalities of El Campillo, Minas de Riotinto and Nerva, in the region of the Cuenca Minera. It is also part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt.
The Tharsis-La Zarza mining basin, colloquially known as the Tharsis mines, is a Spanish mining area located in the province of Huelva. Its main centers are in the municipalities of Alosno, Calañas, Cerro de Andévalo and La Zarza-Perrunal. The basin is part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt.
The Tharsis railway line, also known as the Tharsis-Río Odiel railway, was a Spanish narrow-gauge railway of mining industrial nature that operated between 1871 and 2000. It served as one of the most important railroads in the province of Huelva.
Riotinto Mining Museum "Ernest Lluch" is a museum located in the Spanish municipality of Minas de Riotinto, in the province of Huelva, which is dedicated to the mining activity in the area and its history. The facilities were inaugurated in 1992 and are managed by the Rio Tinto Foundation. It has an important collection ranging from archaeological pieces to mining machinery and railroad locomotives.
The Compañía Española de Minas de Tharsis was a Spanish company belonging to the mining sector, whose activity was developed mainly in the Tharsis-La Zarza mining basin. It was born as heir to the former British company that had operated the Tharsis mines since the mid-19th century. The company was active between 1978 and 1995, ceasing operations due to the crisis that the sector was going through at that time.
Fertiberia is a Spanish company in the chemical sector whose activity is focused on the production of fertilizers, ammonia and other derived products, and is currently the largest fertilizer manufacturer in Spain. The company is also the head of the Fertiberia Group, a conglomerate made up of several subsidiaries with a presence in countries such as Algeria, Portugal and France.
Compañía Española de Minas de Río Tinto (CEMRT) was a Spanish company that operated between 1954 and 1970, mainly in the province of Huelva. Dedicated to mining activities in the Rio Tinto-Nerva basin, over the years the company diversified its business into other sectors. After consolidating its position, in 1970 it merged with another company, giving rise to the Unión Explosivos Río Tinto (ERT) group.
Corrales railway station was located in the Spanish municipality of Aljaraque, in the province of Huelva, autonomous community of Andalusia. The facilities were part of the Tharsis railway, a mining-industrial line that was operational between 1871 and 1999.
The Río Tinto Foundation is a Spanish cultural and non-profit institution based in the municipality of Minas de Ríotinto, in the province of Huelva. The Foundation's objective is the study and preservation of the industrial heritage of the Río Tinto Company Limited, as well as its recovery in projects that generate added value in the Río Tinto region. The foundation is involved in numerous cultural and recreational initiatives.
The Chemical Park of Promotion and Development of Huelva, also known simply as the Chemical Park of Huelva or Chemical Pole of Huelva, is the name given to the group of facilities and infrastructures belonging to the petrochemical industry sector located in the province of Huelva (Spain), south of the provincial capital's urban center. The industrial complex was started up during the second half of the 20th century, covering various branches of production.
