GALICIAN MINING ROUTES

The Galician mining routes hook those who follow them, the hard work on the rock impresses. The traveler will discover the sacrifice that thousands of men made for years fighting against nature to extract its riches. Today, already fallen into abandonment, the forests have regained the lost ground, giving them a mysterious and captivating aura.

The Medans Mine route

In front of the bridge over the railway there is a track. Shortly after starting to walk along it, you can see the beginning of a narrow valley on the left. It is a ditch of Roman origin to extract gold.

Tin and tungsten mines of Beariz (Ourense)

Located geologically in the Central-Iberian area. Granites originated 450 million years ago. Presence of Tin and Wolfram, very scarce in the Earth’s crust. Wolfram exploitations, especially during the wars of the 20th century.

Baldrei and Los Milagros Mines in Maceda (Ourense)

Located in the Central-Iberian area, in the Ollo de Sapo Domain. At the beginning, the basement is formed by granitic and metamorphic rocks from the Variscan orogeny. It ends in sedimentary materials from the Quaternary (less than 4 million years old).

Vilanova Mine (Ourense)

Located geologically in the Central-Iberian Zone, in the Ollo de Sapo Domain. It begins in a rock of the granite family, rich in Biotite (black mica with iron) with large feldspar crystals. Schists and Quartzites from the Capas de los Montes Formation.

El Golfo Ártabro Mines (A Coruña)

Allochthonous origin. Flysh appearance, geological formation of sedimentary origin that alternates fine-grained and coarse-grained sediments.