RAILWAYS AND MINING: THE ROLE OF THE TRAIN IN THE EXPLOITATION OF THE CERRO MURIANO MINE (CÓRDOBA, SPAIN)

Since its inception, the railway has been intimately connected with mining. On one hand, the arrival of trains permitted the large-scale development of numerous mines far from the sea, with the railways facilitating supply delivery to the mine as well as the transport of its products to ports or industrial centres and other interior points. On the other hand, railways depended on the mines being provided with raw materials and fuel. Thus, during the 19th and 20th centuries, a close relationship was established between the two industries, often reflected in the capital invested. In this article, we study this relationship using the example of the British-worked Cerro Muriano mine (Cordoba, Spain).