Ok, first things first, this nomination is a disaster, it tries to get 21 mines spread throughout the country (and history) into just one site. It's almost as bad as wine in iberia in that regard. However it does point towards some good posible sites. Spain already has two sites associated with mining, which might seem like a lot, but still leaves some gaps. Namely, anything not related with mercury or roman gold extraction. Spain has been a notorious mining region since antiquity and to this day. Thus it has a diverse and large mining heritage. This is made clear when you go through the list as it includes anything from neolithic mines to 19th century ones. Further inspection shows that one mine is already inscribed (Almaden) and another two are part of other nominations, salinas de imán in sigüenza and atienza, and Salinas de aaiana in valle salado de Añana. So how to understand all of this? Here's my take. Not including the mines in other nominations there's basically 5 general regions presented which may have OUV. The iberian pyrite belt in andalusia, the lead-silver deposits in sierra morena, the cartagena mining deposits, the neolithic mines in Barcelona, the coal deposits in Asturias and the iron deposits in the basque country. Out of these I haven't been to cartagena, sierra morena, nor the neolithic mines so I won't talk about thiem.

The iberian pyrite belt

This is the muscle of the nomination. All the mines in the pyrite belt (which continues into portugal and includes tharsis and rio tinto from the nomination) share more or less the same history: Early extraction by locals, then roman extraction up to what their technology allows them, then abandonment, and finally industrial foreign (french and british) extraction in the 19th century. I'm going to talk about Rio tinto because It's the one i've been too.

It has been a very long time since I went there, so I'll stick to the basics. Rio tinto was exploited during the roman period and there are significant artifacts (like a roman wood noria). However, nowadays the mine mostly reflects the operations in the 19th century by english miners. they made out of this ancient mine what at the time was the largest open pit mine in the world. it is very visually impressive and it still has a significant amount of industrial heritage. Close to the mines there are some british neighbourhoods built for the staff which you can still visit and add a cultural layer to the proposal. Other than that the most particular quirk about the mine is the river. Rio tinto means "red river" and as the name suggests it is a vivid red. The leaching from all the exposed metallic deposits is what gives it this surprising colour. Unsurprisingly few living things can thrive here, though a number of extremophiles have been found lurking in the highly acidic (ph 2) waters. It is a really striking example of mining contamination and it has been widely used for scientific research about the extremophiles. Imo Rio Tinto has OUV (which is why I give this nomination a thumbs up)

It's worth noting that part of Rio tinto is nowadays a touristic mining park. However, this doesn't include the whole complex. The deposits are still there and the mining continues. if demand increases we might see pushes for renewed extraction inside the property.

Asturias

I have been in coal mines in asturias, though I can't say if I've been to any in the nomination file (sorry). Similarly, anyone who has traveled by car in the region has seen the leftovers from the lucrative metallurgic industry of the 19th century. It somewhat resembles the Ruhr, but I very much doubt it can compete with the already established collection of coal mines in the WHL. So it's a preentive thumbs down from me.

 

Basque Country

I've only been to a small iron mill in the basque country which is not enough to judge the region. However, The basque country is synonymous with iron. Before the 19th century this was one of the poorest regions in Spain. Nowadays it's one of the richest. that change comes down to their iron deposits which, with the development of the steel industry, became highly coveted. The region industrialised fast by selling their iron ore to the UK. In 1899 they produced 6.5M metric tonnes, a bit more than france! The reason for their success was that their iron had no phosphorus and at the time that was a big advantage. I have no Idea if this has any OUV (Afterall, I haven't been to any of the relevant mines) but It doesn't look all that bad.

Conclusion

Overall, I would say this messy nomination hides a few interesting jewels. It lazily piles all the mining heritage in Spain but with a bit of luck It could give us one or even several industrial heritage sites. Something that would be welcomed in a region with few of this kind.