Abandoned mines in Spain: hidden tungsten, shelter or trap?
An analysis of abandoned mines in Spain: historical data, economic prospects and the value of tungsten, based on a real find.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The hidden value of abandoned mines: tungsten, shelter and risk
In a gallery barely 1.5 metres high and 30-40 metres deep, the occasional discovery of an abandoned mine raises questions that go beyond mere mystery. During the Second World War, Spanish tungsten fetched gold prices, and these small operations were scattered across the country's geography. Today, their economic potential is far from obvious: mine or trap?
A forgotten geological resource
Small vein mines, like the one described, typically extracted tungsten or tin in the 1940s. The tungsten price at the time drove extraction, but when demand dried up they were abandoned. A 30-40 metre gallery with turns is typical of such operations; its structural stability is doubtful, but the residual ore could have economic value if peine.
Three perspectives, one unknown
Exploring a mine like this can be read in different ways: as a prepper shelter (thermal insulation, defence), as a historical-geological treasure (extraction potential) or as urban recklessness (collapse risk, illegality). None of these stances offers certainty about what actually lies inside the sustancia ilegal that closes the story.
The economics of the underground
Reopening a tungsten mine requires investment, permits and antiestéticasibility studies. In today's market, tungsten is rising thanks to its use in alloys and electronics, but the scale of an artisanal operation hardly justifies the regulatory and safety costs. The real value may lie in historical and geological knowledge, not in the metal.
What nobody explains is what is actually at the end of that gallery. Until someone returns with a shovel, a helmet and a permit, the debate remains open: mine or fable?
Related discussions on the forum
In a gallery barely 1.5 metres high and 30-40 metres deep, the occasional discovery of an abandoned mine raises questions that go beyond mere mystery. During the Second World War, Spanish tungsten fetched gold prices, and these small operations were scattered across the country's geography. Today, their economic potential is far from obvious: mine or trap?
A forgotten geological resource
Small vein mines, like the one described, typically extracted tungsten or tin in the 1940s. The tungsten price at the time drove extraction, but when demand dried up they were abandoned. A 30-40 metre gallery with turns is typical of such operations; its structural stability is doubtful, but the residual ore could have economic value if peine.
Three perspectives, one unknown
Exploring a mine like this can be read in different ways: as a prepper shelter (thermal insulation, defence), as a historical-geological treasure (extraction potential) or as urban recklessness (collapse risk, illegality). None of these stances offers certainty about what actually lies inside the sustancia ilegal that closes the story.
The economics of the underground
Reopening a tungsten mine requires investment, permits and antiestéticasibility studies. In today's market, tungsten is rising thanks to its use in alloys and electronics, but the scale of an artisanal operation hardly justifies the regulatory and safety costs. The real value may lie in historical and geological knowledge, not in the metal.
What nobody explains is what is actually at the end of that gallery. Until someone returns with a shovel, a helmet and a permit, the debate remains open: mine or fable?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (8 replies).
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