Lead smelting and ruins of the Mines del Sant Pare

The Mines del Sant Pare offer a captivating glimpse into the industrial past of Anglès. The site includes the ruins of miners' houses and company headquarters, warehouses around the main well, and a lead-smelting chimney known as a "Tut" located on the peak of the nearest hill, called "la Coma del Rec de Via". These structures are made primarily of brick and some stone. The workers' housing consists of two adjacent blocks with double-pitched roofs, while the head miners lived in a slightly higher location nearby.

While mining activity continued with various starts and stops until 1930, the area faced many extraction difficulties and little profitability. The extraction of galena (lead) took place in five different mines throughout the history of the Mines del Sant Pare. From 1871, after a dispute between the partners of Pege, Jordà y Compañía, the mines were directed by the Bisbat de Girona, which leased them to different companies that invested little and received few profits.

Today, the site remains a relevant element of industrial archaeology in the municipality of Anglès. The chimney was originally built to ensure that toxic fumes from smelting the extracted lead would not remain in the small valley where the miners and their leaders resided, as the activity was never constant.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons