The Ginevro Mine is the only underground one on the Island of Elba
The Ginevro mine is the only underground one on the Island of Elba, and is the largest deposit of Magnetite in Europe, it is the most recent construction site of the Capoliveri mine and boasted various technological achievements.
The history of the Ginevro mine
During the early 1900s, investigations in the area confirmed the presence of “lenses” of very compact Magnetite.
Magnetite is the best mineral for iron and steel, an oxide which on average contains the highest percentage of iron compared to other Elba minerals.
The open-air works begin around the thirties, but the miners dig short stretches of tunnels at 81, 54, 30 and 6 meters above sea level, to explore the size and richness of the deposit, discovering that this incredible deposit extends even below sea level.
The Ginevro Mine -54 below sea level
So around 1960 they began to dig the deepest heart of the mine, the shaft, more than 350 steps removed from the hardness of the rock, to reach -24 and -54 meters below sea level and start the underground adventure.
The very hard and compact rock of Ginevro is tackled with compressed air hammer drills and tons of dynamite, conquering one meter of road a day, in the company of darkness, noise and dust.
After the explosion, the face is cleared with mechanical shovels, the wall is cleaned and the drilling continues to obtain, meter by meter, seven kilometers of underground roads.
The underground work of the mine: tiring, risky and very difficult
The gases from the explosion, the use of dynamite, the scarce air exchange and the lack of lighting, except for the helmet lamps, made this job tiring, risky and very difficult and, only after years of experience, did could access the dungeon.
The castle of extraction
After many years of work, having prepared the skeleton of the tunnels, the construction of the shaft for the extraction castle began. Very modern plant, the result of German engineering, which from + 54 meters reaches the deepest point of the mine, -91 meters under the sea, to bring out tons of ore, extracted and already crushed underground.
Ginevro mine intense extraction of magnetite
Anno 1970, tutto adesso è pronto per lo sfruttamento intenso della magnetite che lascerà enormi voragini sotterranee: per recuperare il minerale si fanno fori lunghi fino a 20 mt con potenti macchine perforatrici e si possono impiegare fino a 500 kg di esplosivo. Impossibile immaginare il boato ed il terremoto di un’esplosione simile!
The washery to separate the sterile from the iron
Il minerale abbattuto viene raccolto a -54 mt sotto il livello del mare e portato al frantoio per la macinazione, poi, grazie ad un sistema meccanico all’avanguardia, si caricano sull’argano 4 tonnellate di magnetite che, giunte all’esterno, grazie al nastro trasportatore, raggiungono la laveria dove grandi elettromagneti, separano la parte sterile da quella ferrosa. A questo punto il minerale viene caricato sulle navi mercantili ed inviato agli stabilimenti siderurgici di Piombino, Taranto, Bagnoli e Genova per diventare ghisa ed acciaio.
The Ginevro gallery, an underground treasure
A titanic and truly efficient undertaking which, working at full speed, can bring 100 tons of ore to the surface per hour. Yet after ten years of extraction, in 1981, the mine in Elba closed, due to competition from developing countries, and the tons of Magnetite left down here became a strategic national reserve. The Ginevro gallery is the casket of an underground treasure which, the papers say, could one day be opened again.
The Ginevro mine opens its doors to tourists
After thirty years, the Ginevro mine opens the gates of the main tunnel to the tourists of the mines. Thanks to the work of the Institutions and people who love Capoliveri and want to tell its story and the miners offer wisdom and memories to put together all the stories you will hear as you immerse yourself in the iron heart of the oldest mining town on the Island of Elba.
Description Ginevro mine
The yard extraction of Ginevro is located 2km to the east of Punta Magnet, consists of a full construction site to the mining, from the extraction to the final treatment.
Guided tourist visits are possible at level +6, while to access levels – 24 and – 54 (for safety reasons) permits are required, mainly granted in case studies and research.
Main minerals mined: Magnetite, pyrite, hematite, etc.
Images of the Ginevro mine
