History of Salave
History of Salave
Gold has, since the beginning of time, been an object of desire to all civilisations that have striven to obtain it by any means necessary. In some cases, even by violent methods. Primarily, it has been obtained by more peaceful methods, involving extraction directly from the earth.
Throughout history, gold has contributed to the wealth of nations, not only in economic value but also through ornamental, religious, technological, and traded value. Gold supports the monetary reserves of countries as a guarantee of solvency. It has been, and continues to be, a fundamental element for the development and sustainability of nations and their economic capacity.
The discovery of the Salave gold deposit by the Romans goes back to the 1st century. They began the extraction of the oxidised areas in the superficial part of the deposit. Furthermore, because of its composition, it was easier to concentrate and liberate the gold contained within the mineralisation.
It is estimated that, in their time, the Romans extracted between 2 and 6 million tons of rock in Salave, recovering between 5,000 and 7,000 kilograms of gold.
For reasons that are not known exactly, but probably due to the difficulties of controlling the water flow when they reached a certain depth in their workings, they abandoned the extraction of Salave. This left a large open pit of considerable dimensions, close to the coast and with lakes in the background now known today as Lagunas de Salave. Defined by the ancient workings that the Romans developed, the area has now been wonderfully rehabilitated with profuse vegetation of all kinds and forming part of the industrial and archaeological heritage of the region.
Since then, there has been no documented mining activity in the area until the 1940s, where certain minerals such as molybdenum were extracted for the manufacture of steel, for use in the national and international conflict. Thereafter, there were minor superficial workings of molybdenum recorded in the Salave area.
From the 1960s, several companies specialising in mining research and development, showed interest in developing and verifying the mineralised continuity at depth which the Romans exploited at the surface.
Using geochemical, geophysical and direct prospecting techniques, the Salave mineralisation model has been reconstructed. Its morphological, proximal, technical, environmental and economic viability have all been assessed and taken into consideration.
Beyond the preliminary geochemical and geophysical studies, since the 1970s, nearly 500 drill holes of varying lengths and inclinations have been conducted in the Salave area, drilling more than 65,000 meters. This information has enabled the interested parties to establish the fundamental characteristics of the deposit, and therefore, a more accurate assessment of its viability. Although, there are still areas of knowledge which are insufficiently covered and that may require future research.
The last survey was carried out by Exploraciones Mineras del Cantábrico in 2018. Just over 2,000 meters were drilled, with the main objective of finalising previous surveys, confirming their results and facilitating the preparation of a feasibility study.
A History of Mining
Gold has, since the beginning of time, been an object of desire to all civilisations that have striven to obtain it by any means necessary. In some cases, even by violent methods. Primarily, it has been obtained by more peaceful methods, involving extraction directly from the earth.
Throughout history, gold has contributed to the wealth of nations, not only in economic value but also through ornamental, religious, technological, and traded value. Gold supports the monetary reserves of countries as a guarantee of solvency. It has been, and continues to be, a fundamental element for the development and sustainability of nations and their economic capacity.
The discovery of the Salave gold deposit by the Romans goes back to the 1st century. They began the extraction of the oxidised areas in the superficial part of the deposit. Furthermore, because of its composition, it was easier to concentrate and liberate the gold contained within the mineralisation.
It is estimated that, in their time, the Romans extracted between 2 and 6 million tons of rock in Salave, recovering between 5,000 and 7,000 kilograms of gold.
For reasons that are not known exactly, but probably due to the difficulties of controlling the water flow when they reached a certain depth in their workings, they abandoned the extraction of Salave. This left a large open pit of considerable dimensions, close to the coast and with lakes in the background now known today as Lagunas de Salave. Defined by the ancient workings that the Romans developed, the area has now been wonderfully rehabilitated with profuse vegetation of all kinds and forming part of the industrial and archaeological heritage of the region.
Since then, there has been no documented mining activity in the area until the 1940s, where certain minerals such as molybdenum were extracted for the manufacture of steel, for use in the national and international conflict. Thereafter, there were minor superficial workings of molybdenum recorded in the Salave area.
From the 1960s, several companies specialising in mining research and development, showed interest in developing and verifying the mineralised continuity at depth which the Romans exploited at the surface.
Using geochemical, geophysical and direct prospecting techniques, the Salave mineralisation model has been reconstructed. Its morphological, proximal, technical, environmental and economic viability have all been assessed and taken into consideration.
Beyond the preliminary geochemical and geophysical studies, since the 1970s, nearly 500 drill holes of varying lengths and inclinations have been conducted in the Salave area, drilling more than 65,000 meters. This information has enabled the interested parties to establish the fundamental characteristics of the deposit, and therefore, a more accurate assessment of its viability. Although, there are still areas of knowledge which are insufficiently covered and that may require future research.