Regoufe Mining Complex

Category: Culture and Entertainment > Tourist Attraction

District: Aveiro > Arouca > Regoufe > Complexo Mineiro de Regoufe

Location

The Regoufe Mining Complex is located in the village of Regoufe, in the municipality of Arouca. Situated in the Serra de Arada, this site offers a unique perspective on the landscape, where the vitality of the surrounding vegetation contrasts with the monochromatic sobriety of areas once dedicated to mining. Access to the complex is via a pedestrian trail, inviting an experience of contact with nature.

A Window to the Past

The history of Arouca, and of Regoufe in particular, is deeply linked to the events of World War II. It was here that tungsten was intensively exploited, a strategic mineral essential for the war industry of the time. In 1915, the license for the exploitation of the Regoufe Mine was granted, but it was from 1941, with the operation of the Companhia Portuguesa de Minas, under British administration, that the extraction of this mineral reached its peak. The importance of tungsten, disputed between the warring forces, indelibly marked local life and development.

Mine Structure and Life

The mining complex, also known as 'Poça da Cadela', extended over a vast area of approximately 57 hectares, revealing a planned amphitheater-like organization. Comprising various infrastructures, it included technical and administrative facilities, warehouses, workshops, a wash plant, a power station, and several residences for the approximately one thousand workers who operated here. The presence of the English Company also brought significant improvements to the village, such as the opening of roads and the installation of electricity and telephone services, demonstrating the scale and strategic importance of the operation.

Traces of an Era

Currently, the Regoufe Mining Complex remains as a collection of ruins that tell a story. Although abandoned, many of the structures are still visible and allow one to understand the scale of the mining activity. Notable are the two-story buildings, formerly administrative and technical, the miners' houses, the old sanitary facilities, the club, and even a small stable. The gallery entrances and the spoil heaps, scattered across the landscape, lend the site a unique character of industrial archaeology. Here, a strange silence invites a true journey through time, where the cultural landscape manifests itself in a raw and striking manner.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt