1913
Sinking of Santa Bárbara began
Hulleras del Turón began sinking Pozu Santa Bárbara at La Rabaldana, San Andrés de Turón, in 1913.
Site overview
Pozu Santa Bárbara is a former coal shaft complex at La Rabaldana, San Andrés de Turón, in the municipality of Mieres, Asturias. It is separate from the nearby Pozu Espinos, with which it was historically connected underground. Santa Bárbara was sunk by Hulleras del Turón from 1913 and developed between 1913 and 1920 as the first vertical coal mine of the Caudal valley.
The complex comprised two vertical shafts with headframes, engine house, landings, hoppers, washeries, lamp room, rescue station, workshops, electrical installations and compressors. It closed in 1995 and became the first Asturian mining shaft to receive the highest level of heritage protection as a Bien de Interés Cultural. The complex has since been reused for cultural and artistic activity.
Set in the narrow valley at San Andrés de Turón, the unusual extraction tower and associated buildings form a compact and clearly legible heritage site.
Map
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Pozu Santa Bárbara is located at La Rabaldana in the parish of San Andrés de Turón, within the municipality of Mieres. It was developed by Hulleras del Turón from 1913 and formed one of the defining coal-mining sites of the Turón valley. Together with nearby Pozu Espinos, it marked the transition from earlier mountain workings to deeper vertical-shaft coal mining in the Caudal valley.
The Santa Bárbara complex was constructed between 1913 and 1920. It developed into an extensive and coherent mining ensemble comprising two vertical shafts with headframes, landings, engine house, hoppers, washeries, spoil tips, changing house, medical facilities, rescue station, lamp room, stores, workshops, ventilation shafts, electrical stations and air compressors. The mine was historically connected underground to the nearby Pozo Espinos, forming part of the wider Hulleras del Turón system.
The site remained in operation until final closure in 1995. Its architectural and industrial significance led to formal heritage protection: it became the first mining shaft in Asturias to receive the highest category of cultural protection as a Bien de Interés Cultural. Since closure, Pozu Santa Bárbara has become a major reference point in the industrial heritage of the Asturian coalfields and has been adapted for cultural use, including contemporary art and audiovisual installations under the PZSB programme.
Timeline
1913–1920
Santa Bárbara shaft complex constructed
The Santa Bárbara complex was developed between 1913 and 1920, including two vertical shafts, headframes, engine house, landings, hoppers, washeries, rescue station, lamp room, workshops and other mine infrastructure.
1995
Pozu Santa Bárbara closed
Coal extraction at Pozu Santa Bárbara ended in 1995.
2008
Declared Bien de Interés Cultural
Pozu Santa Bárbara became the first Asturian mining shaft to receive the highest level of heritage protection as a Bien de Interés Cultural.
2021
Cultural reuse as PZSB
From 2021 Pozu Santa Bárbara has been used as PZSB, a centre for contemporary artistic and audiovisual interventions.
Sources and records
Ayuntamiento de Mieres: Pozu Santa Bárbara; Turismo Asturias: Pozu Santa Barbara; Patrimonio Industrial Asturias: Santa Bárbara Mine; El Valle de Turón: Pozo Santa Bárbara en La Rebalbana; Wikimedia Commons: Pozo Santa Bárbara; El País: cultural reuse of Pozo Santa Bárbara / PZSB.
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