minas domingo’s portugal

Happy memories, Ken.
Is it close enough to log onto the bar/ cafe WiFi ?
 
We were there in Mrach 2015, would like to go back and spend more time exploring the industrial herritage. Theres a lot to see and a 14km walk. We stayed in the CP by the lake and there were vans dotted all over the hills behind - but no longer possible I think.

The mine closed in the 1960s after 108 years operated by a British company Mason & Barry. They had their own police force and some of their labour practices bordered on slavery.
 
I helped to close it

I was Quality Manager of an Engineering and foundry company. New to the job.


For decades, They'd been importing train loads of hematite Iron ore from Portugal, to use in the heat treatment of the castings.

After increasing complaints from the engineering shops, that the castings were too hard to machine, I sent samples from each rail wagon for analysis. The first couple of trucks were OK, but the ones behind them were of too low a grade.
We changed to a different supplier.

When I visited the Minas, I realised the cruel, evil regime that had made the workers, and their families so badly treated and the disgraceful effects on the neighbourhood.
The museum is worth a visit.
 
for those who know the area the beautiful park up by the lake is bottom left the new aire top right , have been back about 5 times the old mine site is both beautiful and worrying the unmissable for me is the little shop always has frozen home made black pork burgers iberia secreto IMG_2054.jpeg
 
We called in at the mines last year and stopped near the new Aire that was under construction the area was very dusty and horrible so we stayed an hour and left, It was a great place to be a few years ago when you could park at the lake side amongst the trees but that was stopped, loved the town and museum and a very good market weekly, we were able to use the bar at the Hotel there, the owner of the Hotel had an observatory on top of the Hotel and allowed us to go in it and use his telescope to observe the heavens great, there is or was a shower block near the Aire where one could get a hot shower for free but one had to take your own shower head as all the shower heads were missing so most of us had shower heads with us happy days, will go back there when in Portugal again and see what it is like now
 
I’m impressed Paul, in what way were you instrumental in closing the mine? The way the British dropped the workers just because they had to do right by them was shameful,
When we left you, after our stay at Mikkis, we stayed at the mines overnight, and it rained so hard that the parking area started to flood, so badly that we stayed put for three days, until it subsided.
Reading the history made us ashamed to be British.
 
not just the brits to blame though the mines were dated back to roman times the list of gems & minerals coming out of that site seemed endless, would have loved to walk the route to pomarao that the ore used to go but 11mls and 4 hours is beyond me nowadays
 
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