What was Pozo Vulcano?

Q: What was Pozo Vulcano?

Talayuelas's oldest mining file held by Cuenca Provincial Historical Archive: an 1841 registration by Antonio Gimeno, an iron merchant and manufacturer living at the Mijares rento, an isolated farmstead in the hills of Landete, for an iron mine at today's Cerro de las Minas.

Cerro de las Minas: Talayuelas's iron and copper

Cerro de las Minas and Collado del Arenal

Cerro de las Minas and Collado del Arenal in Talayuelas preserve galleries and slag heaps from iron and copper mines. Here stood «Pozo Vulcano» (Vulcan Shaft), the village's oldest mining file, registered in 1841 for an iron mine at «Meneras del Pico Ranera» (Pico Ranera ore workings), and the Santa Filomena company's Amistad mine.

Mining fever in Serranía Baja

The mining law of 1825 and especially the decree of 1868 opened the way to private enterprise, and Serranía Baja (lower Serranía) filled with claims and trial workings. In Talayuelas, the oldest file is Pozo Vulcano, from 1841: an iron mine at «Meneras del Pico Ranera» (Pico Ranera ore workings), now Cerro de las Minas. It was registered by Antonio Gimeno, an iron merchant and manufacturer living at the Mijares rento, an isolated farmstead in the hills, in Landete, where there was a foundry.

In 1845 sixteen patches of slag from old smelting works were claimed in the municipality; some, such as Campo de las Herrerías, are Roman, others perhaps medieval. The Amistad mine also operated at Cerro de las Minas, owned by the same company as Santa Filomena mine. In 1890 alone, 25 iron and copper files were opened in Talayuelas.

Plan your visit

Before you travel

Do not enter galleries or mine entrances: there is a risk of collapse.

Combine with

Laguna de Talayuelas.

Where it is