PORTMAN Although its name looks English it is

PORTMAN Although its name looks English it is not. It comes from Latin: Portus Magnus. Its location as a natural port close to the mines of Cartagena and La Union, became a strategic site in Roman times. There are numerous remains of Roman mining operations and industrial facilities for the smelting of mineral throughout the area. With the new mining boom in the middle of the XIX century, a new period of great splendor began until the middle of the XX century.

• But the consequences of this period were not good for nature, animals and definitely were not good for people and for the city of Portman. • It was a difficult period in Spanish history under the dictator Franco. His goverment allowed the owners of the mining exploitation to dump all the waste from washing the mineral into the SEA. The natural and wonderful aspect of the bay dissappeared to became one of the biggest natural disasters of the Mediterranean sea.

La Union has still access roads to the Sierra, which served from ancient routes for the movement of men, horses and vehicles, ready to speed routes to the richness of the earth in an endless flow of labour and raw materials. The complex geological history of the area has led our Sierra Minera to be one of the richest parts of the world for the variety of their deposits. Its wide range of minerals, exploited since prehistoric times for its industrial interest, is now appreciated by mineral collectors because of the beauty of their diverse presentations.

Route 33 By 1900, mining was in full swing. One of the main entrances to the town had its beginning in the Rambla de Las Lajas, immediately after crossing the railway of the city. This road, facing south, split into two. The original entrance was to the west, beginning at the end of the street Porras and leads to the coast of Portman. This is why the road was called La Union to Portman. It was an undeniable important route used by miners to transport the ore mined from the mountains, and was also a major source of employment for citizens. Today it has become an open-air mining museum, part theme park and backbone of the Sierra Minera. Its name is due to the fact that was completed in 1933.

MINING ELEMENTS The Sierra Minera has been marked by strong mining activities, both underground and open pit. This activity has created a peculiar landscape, strange and unique. This landscape is now filled with elements involved in mining. Some of the most important elements found throughout the Sierra Minera are:

HEADGEAR Consisting of a structure that holds a large pulley that allowed both miners and materials ( extracted mineral, tooling, etc. ) enter or exit the pits. It is nowadays one of the characteristic symbols of the Sierra Minera.

CHIMNEY Its purpose was to extract the smoke from steam engines used in the mines. After extracting the mineral, it was taken to another place where it was treated.

·KILN It is one of the few ovens preserved in the Sierra Minera. Its function was to calcine the ore to obtain metal. ·MINA VICENTA It was dedicated to the removal of pyrite from 1869 to mid-twentieth century. With more than 4000 m ² open to the public, 80 m deep, is one of the largest and most spectacular mines visited in Europe, highlighting his inland lake water reddish due to the pyrite. ·PAID LAUNDRY It was a sink gravity, ie separating by mechanical means minerals and gangue (waste matter accompanying minerals), based on their different specific gravities

FUTURE Our hope is in the future. It was promised by the government many years ago, that the bay would be cleaned and that a new port would be built. But little has been done to achieve those objectives. The economical crisis suffered by the country and Europe has stopped the works started some years ago to recover the old aspect, flora and fauna in the bay. Our future and the development of Portman and La Union is based on considering the natural richness and cultural heritage of our Bay through the exploitation of sustainable tourism connected with the recovery of mining cultural heritage in our town. The regeneration of Sierra Minera and Portman will be not only a guarantee for the future, but also to our health, since that would implied the regeneration of poluted soil around us.

Bibliography • • www. ayto-launion. org www. google. es/images www. portman. org. es www. fotocartagena. com Presentation done by Juan José Manzanares and Esteban Romero