As Minas de São Pedro da Cova. Indústria. Arquitectura

Abstract

The mining industry has its own rules and follows distinctive priorities regarding other industries. The settling of its premises does not depend on man's will and is directly related to geology, preferring the proximity to the extraction site over other factors considered important in other industries, such as good accessibility, topography and distance from urban centres and habitation areas. Since they are located in a relatively inhabited location, the mines of São Pedro da Cova are linked to a system of buildings and infrastructures usually constructed by the mine engineers, to provide self-sufficiency to the village built near the site. After the mines shutdown, the reason for the existence of that community disappeared leaving in its place a general sense of loss. As the time passed by, that mining system was gradually forgotten. Four decades after its shutdown and with no solution in sight, there came the need for a new approach to this issue through the review of São Pedro da Cova's history considering its mining heritage and the several interventions undertaken since that event.