Panasqueira

Minas da Panasqueira or Mina da Panasqueira (Panasqueira Mine) is the generic name for a set of mining operations between Cabeço do Pião (Fundão Municipality) and the village of Panasqueira (Covilhã Municipality), which operated in a technically integrated manner and continue practically since its discovery. Subsequently, it was agglomerated into a single administrative entity called Couto Mineiro da Panasqueira which had its last demarcation on 9 March 1971 and later in the present Exploration Concession C18 (16/12/1992). The mining installations are currently centralised in the area of Barroca Grande-Aldeia de S. Francisco de Assis (Covilhã) i.e. access to underground exploration, extraction and processing of ore.Panasqueira minePanasqueira mine - Barroca GrandeFluorite on Chalcopyrite, (5.2 x 4.6 x 2.6 cm)Cassiterite crystals (2.2 x 1.9 x 1.8 cm) Minas da Panasqueira or Mina da Panasqueira (Panasqueira Mine) is the generic name for a set of mining operations between Cabeço do Pião (Fundão Municipality) and the village of Panasqueira (Covilhã Municipality), which operated in a technically integrated manner and continue practically since its discovery. Subsequently, it was agglomerated into a single administrative entity called Couto Mineiro da Panasqueira which had its last demarcation on 9 March 1971 and later in the present Exploration Concession C18 (16/12/1992). The mining installations are currently centralised in the area of Barroca Grande-Aldeia de S. Francisco de Assis (Covilhã) i.e. access to underground exploration, extraction and processing of ore. The mine has been in operation for almost 120 years in a practically uninterrupted manner, with a strong impact on the identity, history and present society of the Beira Interior. It is also a worldwide reference in the wolfram sector, not only for the quality and volume of production, duration and adaptability of exploration; but also due to the maturity of technical solutions for both underground exploitation and ore processing. Minas da Panasqueira (Panasqueira Mine) is named after the location of initial mining exploration. At the end of the 19th century the area was covered with gorse, broom bush and several species of low-lying bushes and pines. The stony ground was totally unsuitable for cultivation of seed or cereal. The population of the neighbouring village of Cebola (presently S. Jorge da Beira) used the folds in the slopes to make terraces where they planted potatoes, corn or pasture. In this manner small cultivation areas divided in narrow terraces with some fruit trees and large chestnut trees were created in the three small valleys of (Madurrada, Vale Torto and Panasqueira). In Panasqueira the ore exploration work began and the first plant was installed. The name of this valley derives from “panasco”, name given to several graminoid plants very common in the region in fields where rye was sowed. The population called this initial mine 'Minas da Panasqueira'. Records exist of extensive galleries in Vale da Ermida, Fontes Casinhas and Courelas associated with the exploration for tin, but this period is poorly documented. There is record of alluvial exploration of tin in the area of S. Jorge da Beira that was attributed to the Roman period. At the end of the 19th century, the region was covered with thick heather scrub, broom, arbutus and pine trees used in the production of vegetable charcoal for sale in Fundão and Covilhã. One of these colliers, known as “O Pescão de Casegas”, found a shiny black stone and took it to Manuel dos Santos, in the Parish of Barroca do Zêzere. After visiting the area, Manuel dos Santos went to Lisbon and asked Professor of Mineralogy Engº. Silva Pinto, to examine the area where the sample was discovered. On his return, Manuel dos Santos bought the land and began the exploration for wolfram. Exploration was done in an artisanal manner and complemented by ore that the shepherds picked up elsewhere and sold to Manuel dos Santos.