Carcabuey Mines

The lignite mines at Carcabuey (19th–20th centuries) brought prosperity in the post-war period. Now disused, their remains form part of the local industrial ...

The Carcabuey mines represent a unique and little-known chapter in the economic history of the municipality. Located in the mountainous area (such as around Cerro Moro), this region boasts rich outcrops of iron and coal, with the main period of mining activity occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including sites such as the Virgen del Tránsito iron mine. Although this extractive and industrial activity is now a thing of the past — giving way to the full environmental protection of the current Geopark of the Subbéticas Mountains — these former mining operations, together with the traditional underground water conduits (also known as ‘water mines’, which supply the town’s historic fountains), form part of a valuable ethnographic and industrial heritage that bears witness to the historic relationship between the people of Carcabueno and the natural resources beneath their feet.