La Tortilla Mine and Smelter

Published on 15/10/2017

Linares (Sierra Morena)

Monuments

At the Cortijo de la Vega, in the municipality of Linares, it is the best-preserved mining and metalworking complex in the area.
Its seams were already worked on a small scale in the 16th century, although the present complex was built between 1875 and 1885, after the English businessman Thomas Sopwith bought it.
It was considered one of the most complete in Europe, since its facilities covered the whole process of producing lead: extraction, smelting and then the making of pipes, sheet and ammunition.
After the Civil War the smelter began to decline, along with lead mining in Linares, and it finally closed in 1969.
Since mid-2012 it has been listed in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage as a Site of Cultural Interest.

More about this place…

Opened in 1874, the La Tortilla mining and metalworking complex brought in the latest technology of its time and became the only works to cover the whole process of producing lead. A complete transport network was designed around it, one of its high points being the branch of the Linares–Puente Genil railway, of which only the trackbed survives. Although some parts are badly deteriorated, the La Tortilla mine and smelter can be considered one of the finest and best-preserved examples of industrial heritage in the province.