History of Miribilla district mines
The modern neighbourhood of Miribilla is located on top of what was once an underground and open-pit mining operation.
The name of the neighbourhood comes from ‘Mira a Villa’.
A bit of history
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The modern Bilbao neighbourhood of Miribilla is located on top of what was once an underground and open-pit mining operation. The name of Miribilla comes from its location near the historical town of ‘Mira a Villa’ on the other side of the river.
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The roots of this set of mines from which iron ore was extracted in Bilbao date back to the late 19th century. Specifically, the San Luis, Abandonada and Malaespera mines began operations in 1900 and were active until 1970. They were part of the operation called Coto Miribilla, an area that has been significantly restructured in the last few years and has been turned into a residential neighbourhood full of new buildings.
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Some components of the San Luis mine, like the calcining furnace and the passageway used to remove material, with some rails remaining, are still in the neighbourhood indicating its original mining nature. It will also soon be possible to visit the Malaespera underground mine. It is an astonishing mining operation, almost in the centre of the city, accessed by a 6 m-wide, 140 m-long and 4-13 m tall entrance passageway leading to the Pilares area, an area where the mine grows taller, reaching 20 m tall and 100 m wide.