The workshop of the Sassi Neri mine and the lake, what remains of the mining site
The Sassi Neri mine was an open-air mining site located east of Capoliveri. It can be reached by going in the direction of Straccoligno, and continue walking along the coast for a couple of kilometers on a dirt road that is not passable by car. We come to what remains of the mining site. Four kilometers further south is the Ginevro mine.
The extraction of the mineral began in 1935 and ceased in 1981. At the mining site the extraction of magnetite, limonite, pyrite, etc. took place.
The construction site belongs to an area that includes the most important mine, Ginevro, and the other minor construction site nearby called Stagnone.
Ferromin Sassi Neri Mine
On the side of the dirt road there is the building serving this construction site, in fair external conditions. On the east wall you can read the name of the company Ferromin and “Miniera Sassi Neri”.
Going further down towards the sea there is the small lake of fresh water , formed by filling the excavated mine shaft, surrounded by abundant vegetation.
A section of masonry structure leads to the beach in front of the mining site, where there is an old pier, probably used for loading the extracted material.
Mountain Calamita 413m above sea level, the name derives from magnetite, the iron ore of which the local mines are rich, it is found in the municipality of Capoliveri, in the southeastern part of the Elba island.
This is how Leandro Alberti described it in his description of Italy in 1596: «Now for this condition this place is called Mountain from the Calamita.»
The story goes that the ships in transit in the vicinity of Monte Calamita (where the Sassi Neri mine is also located), lost their compass, due to magnetic deviation and are magnetized to the shore without knowing where north is .
Museum of Elba minerals
Types of minerals extracted at the Sassi Neri mine
