The largest concentration of mines borders the town of Mazarron. Most workers actually lived in the town so it was an easy commute, unlike the mountain mine. It was however just as hazardous and, in 1893, 27 miners perished from gas suffocation.
A few years before this the mine was rigged up to electric power, the first usage in the area, and was consequently visited by the Spanish Minister of the Interior. He was much impressed by the provision of singing canaries in the pithead area, and was surprised to learn that they were part of the mining operation, as gas detectors. Concentrations of gas harmless to humans are lethal to canaries, so if the canary in the cage underground keels over, get out fast!
The Minister also remarked on the number of youngsters at the mine, he presumed waiting for their fathers to finish their shift. No, Minister, they work here.
There were ultimately measures to improve air quality underground, shown by the tunnel in the photo. There are the remains of many such tunnels, all with blackened insides. A fire was kept going underground at the bottom of special shafts which connected with these tunnels, each ending in a tall chimney (which is not in the photo as it has collapsed). This created a huge updraught, drawing fresh air into the mine through other dedicated shafts.
The hole above is a section of collapsed mining galleries. They continued working on the area after the collapse, as opencast. In keeping the mines clear of water, mineral deposits were pumped out with the water into special reservoirs. These minerals settled to the bottom with a colourful effect, as can be seen below.
The mines at Mazarron closed in 1963. It was economic disaster for the immediate area and the population fell from around 40,000 to less than 6,000. It has of course since recovered due to market gardening and tourism, part of which comes from visits to the mines themselves which were designated as a historical site by the Regional Government in 2005.
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