Home > Mines, Quarries & Sites > Alquife Iron Mine

Alquife Iron Mine (Spain)


An iron mine in Southern Spain owned through much of its early life by the Millom and Askam Iron Company. It is near Guadix, in turn not far from Granada. It was working until the late 1990's but is now ruinous. It was (and still is) linked to the coast by a railway operated by the Alquife Mines and Railway Company where they constructed an impressive loading pier known as "El Cable Inglés". It is still there and is now a listed structure next to the marina. It was last used in 1970.
The mines have many old underground workings but in later years these were superseded by a large (now flooded) openwork.
The British Company sponsored many initiatives to support their workers including the foundation of a Co-op.
Perhaps the most interesting phase of it's life was in the late 1930's during the Spanish Civil War. Although the British staff were evacuated by gunboat from Gibraltar some of the poor old Spanish staff were in turn tortured and shot by the advancing Fascists.
Much of the correspondance from this era still survives.
Incidentally the Registered Company HQ of the Alquife Mines and Railway Company was in Market Street, Ulverston in Cumbria!

Photos of Alquife Iron Mine

Photographs Of Alquife
Photographs Of Alquife (1 photo)
Last updated August 2nd 2008 by Monty Stubble
Historic Photographs Of Alquife
Historic Photographs Of Alquife (0 photos)
Last updated August 2nd 2008 by Monty Stubble

Google Earth Map of Alquife Iron Mine


Other location/mapping information:

Latitude: 37.112948
Longitude: -3.070301

Documents for Alquife Iron Mine

Sorry, there are no documents currently available. If you have any documents you can share please click the 'Upload a Document' tab.