Aroa mines
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Aroa, Bolívar municipality |
| State | Yaracuy |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Coordinates | 10°25′55″N 68°53′38.7″W / 10.43194°N 68.894083°WCoordinates: 10°25′55″N 68°53′38.7″W / 10.43194°N 68.894083°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper |
| Type | Underground |
| Greatest depth | 95 metres (312 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1605 |
| Closed | 1936 |
The Aroa mines (Portuguese: Minas de Aroa) were copper mines in the state of Yaracuy, Venezuela. Mining started in 1632, and for some time the mines were owned by the family of Simón Bolívar. Bolívar leased the mines to an English company to help finance the wars of independence, and they continued to be operated by English companies, using Cornish and local miners, until 1936. Today the mines are closed and partially flooded. Their remains are preserved by the Parque Bolivariano Minas de Aroa and may be visited by the public.
The Aroa copper deposits are located in the Bolivar Iron Quadrilateral mining district. They are 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of the village of Aroa in the state of Yaracuy, about 220 kilometres (140 mi) west of Caracas and 83 kilometres (52 mi) from San Felipe, Yaracuy. The mines are in rugged country about 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level on the northern side of the Andes, which run from east to west,. The climate is warm and humid, and the area is covered in thick forest.
In the 16th century it was known that there was gold in the Yaracuy, Santa Cruz and Aroa rivers, and in 1605 gold deposits were found in a small valley leading to the Aroa River. The King of Spain gave the mines in perpetuity to Dr. Francisco Marín de Narváez and his heirs in exchange for 40,000 pesos. Mining began in 1632, following gold veins, which led to discovery of large deposits of copper. The mines attracted the indigenous Gayones Indians of the Duaca region, 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the southwest. They came in part for the wages, in part because at the mines they could practice their traditional religion without interference by Catholic priests.
Around the end of the 17th century the "Cobre Caracas" mining company became the property of the family of Simón Bolívar (1783–1830). The largest of the mines, La Vizcaina, was worked by 60 to 70 slaves. There was a surge in copper production in the 1790s.Alexander von Humboldt said the mines held some of the finest copper in the world. According to an 1825 newspaper report, "The Aroa mines have been but partially and defectively worked by the old Spanish Govt., about 40 of the natives only being employed at one time and even then yielded 300 tons of refined copper annually."
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Wikipedia