Herrera Del Duque - Antimony Mine

The Pilar Mine is located about 4 miles east of Herrera del Duque (Badajoz), on the western slope of the Sierra de la Dehesa, in the vicinity of Arroyo de Cañada Mojada. Access to the workings is by a road that originates in the town of Herrera del Duque. The past mining operation was carried out using open-pit techniques. The mine is currently inactive and in its last operating period (1970-1977) the stibnite was mined by hand. There is a principal pit, west of the stream, the dimensions of which are 80 m long, 20m wide and depths from 5m to 28 m. There are other minor pits east of the creek. A cross-section of the old pit is shown here:

The mining operation was performed by benching operating on the main face. The site is reef-type deposit with slightly sloping reefs, with gentle dips between 15° and 20° to the east and directions close to the N-S. The reefs filled sub-horizontal fractures and which cut cleanly the schists. They have a lenticular morphology, with widening where mineralization is concentrated in pods. The image here shows the pit in 1977, the last year of mining operations.

The image here shows the current flooded state of the pit.

Mina Pilar location is noted below

The Mina Susana is a small showing located in the wayside called Costera, in the municipality of Puebla de Alcocer. It has been exploited in the past by underground mining. The exact dates of this past production are unknown. Access to the workings is done by going from Cabeza del Buey to Puebla de Alcocer. It takes a route heading east and some 3.5km ahead is the showing.

The photo that follows shows the old entrance to the mine.

Mina Susana Location is noted below