Parque Mineiro da Cova dos Mouros

Copper has been mined since prehistoric times in the region of Alcoutim, a Portuguese town on the River Guardiana, which is the frontier with Spain, 65 km north-east of Faro. Exploitation on an industrial scale began in 1868 under the direction of Joao Texeira. The workings were abandoned in the late nineteenth century but re-started in 1930.

 

The museum park includes open cast workings for malachite (copper ore), the remains of smelting furnaces, and a reconstruction of a Bronze Age smelter. Indoor displays cover many aspects the ways in which copper has been smelted and fabricated, as well as collections of minerals.

Parque Mineiro da Cova dos Mouros
Vanquiros
Alcoutim
Portugal
+352 (0) 289 - 999221
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