Minas de Mazarron
About the place
Minas de Mazarron is an abandoned mining site on the outskirts of the town of Mazarron, with a history stretching back to the Phoenicians and Romans, who were drawn here by rich deposits of lead and silver. The Romans operated an open-cut mine on the hill of San Cristobal — a pit over 300 metres long whose walls still bear the marks of ancient pickaxes and chisels. Mining revived in the 19th century, when French companies brought in steam machinery and at peak times employed over three thousand workers. The complex closed in 1969, and what remains today are ruined factory buildings, old chimneys, collapsed shafts, and a striking lake of iron-oxide water in shades of deep red and orange. The overall landscape — barren, colourful, and utterly still — has often been compared to the surface of Mars.
