If you anytime come to Andalusia, I recommend you coming to the famous “Mines of Riotinto”, its mining Museum and, for that matter, give yourself a ride on the tourist train.These Mines are in Huelva (South western Spain).
Minas de Riotinto by Jose Maria González-Serna, at flickr.com
You will visit some of the famous open mines, where not long ago they were extracted various metals, especially copper.
Instalaciones mineras, by Enrique Hinojosa Rosado, at flickr.com
The Tinto river water, which passes through the same municipality, where the mines are located, is reddish in color, very acidic, and until recently, it was thought that mining had much to do in this process.
Vagonetas, by Enrique Hinojosa Rosado, at flickr.com
El arbol rojo / The Red Tree, by Jose Carlos, at flickr.com
The origin of the acidic waters of the Tinto river is mainly due to the interaction of groundwater with different geological units, containing significant amounts of massive sulphides.
Huelva - Minas de cobre de Riotinto_2, by Fernando Lopez, at flickr.com
This has been demonstrated from studies conducted within the project “IPBSL” --English acronym for Life Detection on the Surface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt--, by the group of research of the Center for Astrobiology INTA-CSIC. The result has been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. The Iberian Pyrite Belt is a geological structure, that extends by itself from the southwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula. It is an area rich in all kinds of minerals, mainly pyrite.
Nacimiento de Riotinto VI, by Xavier, at flickr.com
In fact, it is an area of intensive mining since at least 5,000 years ago. In the province of Huelva, there are over 200 mines, almost all non-operating. This has dramatically changed the field, creating a landscape with extraterrestrial appearance.
Minas de Riotinto, by Jose Maria Gonzalez-Serna, at flickr.com
In this area, is born the river Tinto (Red River), a river of water stained red by the high concentration of iron oxide, which gives it its name. These results imply that mining has a very limited influence on the generation of acidic waters of the Tinto river, contrary to currently established, which has implications of indisputable environmental interest.
Agua roja / Red water, by Jose Carlos, at flickr.com
Well, I hope that you can come to visit this such spectacular place.
Till soon, kind regards,
Luis.
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