Friday -- Valenciana

On Friday, I went to visit the Valenciana Mine, a mine as rich in history as it was (and maybe is) in Silver.

This is the gate leading into Valenciana. Quite nice, eh?

Looking inside the gate, we see something that looks like a pyramid. Actually, there are similar structures all around the edge of the mine, meant to symbolize the crown of the Spanish Queen (in the 1500s). That’s how old this mine is – they designed it to honor the Spanish Queen.

Then we see the chimneys. The outside of the mine is half a ruin. It will probably be brought back into production, but they’ll have to do it while preserving its historical qualities.


The mine shaft here goes down to 545 feet, but we couldn't get past a barrier, and my camera shots were less than satisfactory.
We were there for a ceremony in which the mining company honored the town and the town honored the mining company. And what would a festival be without mariachis?
Here is another mine (from a great distance). That thing that looks like a prison is the Rayas Mine. Now why do they have high walls around all the mines, do you ask? Because when this mine first opened and for a hundred years afterward, it was the wild, wild west. Bandits would come down and raid -- everybody wanted the silver. So, nice high walls at Valenciana and Rayas made for good neighbors.
Today, I'm going down 2 more mines. It's a long day -- I'll post again tomorow.

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