Established | 1992 |
---|---|
Location | Minas de Riotinto, Huelva, Spain |
Director | Aquilino Delgado |
CEO | Río Tinto Foundation |
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 Museum building is the former mining hospital of the Rio Tinto Company Limited.
The building that houses the museum was originally designed in 1921 as a hospital for the Rio Tinto Company Limited (RTC) staff, and was used for that purpose between 1927 and 1983. [note 1] In 1970 the south pavilion of the building [1] was converted into social security. [2]
In 1987, the Rio Tinto Foundation was created, whose objectives included the creation of a mining museum. In this context, the Rio Tinto corporation offered to cede the building of the former RTC hospital to house the headquarters of the planned museum. [3] In 1988 the transfer of ownership took place, and two years later the restoration and rehabilitation of the complex began. The transfer of various historical materials also took place. The facilities opened their doors to the public in 1992, [4] as part of a series of initiatives aimed at setting up the so-called Riotinto Mining Park. [5]
The museum has sixteen thematic rooms whose historical themes range from prehistory to the end of the 20th century, [6] coinciding with the cessation of activity that the Riotinto mines experienced at that time. [7] Among the material on display are various collections of mining instruments and tools, some from the Roman period, archaeological remains, mining machinery, a collection of minerals from the Iberian Pyrite Belt, etc. In the basement of the museum there is a reproduction of a subway mine from the Roman period, in a commitment to interpretation. Another of its rooms is dedicated to the historic Riotinto railway and has on display a variety of material, including several steam locomotives. [8] [note 2]
Minas de Riotinto is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, southern Spain.
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.
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 Rio Tinto Pier was a commercial pier formerly used for the trade of material from the mines of the Rio Tinto Company in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the River Odiel in the city of Huelva. An estimated 150 million tons of ore were shipped from the pier over its life. Closed in 1975, it is now a popular tourist attraction and fishing spot. The pier is 1165 meters long, although part of that is built on reclaimed marshland.
The Palencia mining basin is a Spanish coal mining area located on the southern slope of the Cantabrian mountain range. It owes its name to its location, in the north of the province of Palencia, in the region of Montaña Palentina. Its main exploitations are black coal and anthracite.
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 Tourist Mining Train is a Spanish tourist train that travels along the historic Riotinto Railway, in the province of Huelva, autonomous community of Andalusia. The first railway services were started in 1994 by the Río Tinto Foundation, using historical rolling stock. The tourist train is part of the Rio Tinto Mining Park, constituting one of its most attractive elements.
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.
Sociedad Minera y Metalúrgica de Peñarroya, usually abbreviated as SMMP, was a French-owned multinational mining company that operated between 1881 and 1989. During its existence it had an important presence in Spain.
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.
Sociedad Española de Construcciones Electromecánicas, colloquially known as "electro", was a Spanish company in the non-ferrous metals industry that operated between 1917 and 1978. Throughout its existence it was one of the most important Spanish companies in the copper sector, having its main activity in Córdoba. Among its products were copper products, brass, electrical transformers, etc.
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.
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.
Cerro Colorado, popularly known as Minas del Rey Salomón, is a Spanish mining deposit in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, located in the municipalities of Minas de Riotinto and Nerva. Its main mineral reserve is copper with 822,000 proven tonnes, of which 696,500 tonnes are recoverable with the current market and profitability range of the mine. As of 24 June 2021, with 206,297 tonnes already mined, the copper mineral reserve increased to 702,000 proven tonnes. In addition to some 9.4 million ounces of silver.
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.