Former coal mine at Nuraxi Figus, the last colliery to operate in Italy, now undergoing decommissioning and post-industrial conversion.
The Nuraxi Figus site, located at the hamlet of Nuraxi Figus on the outskirts of Gonnesa in south-western Sardinia, was the last operating coal mine in Italy. Its origins lay in the 1930s, when the Sulcis coalfield was developed under the Società Mineraria Carbonifera Sarda as Littoria I (also known as Littoria Prima). The mine was later renamed Monte Sinni by Carbosulcis S.p.A., which took over management in 1976, taking the name of a nearby hill with Nuragic archaeological associations.
At the height of production, the operation worked coal at depths of between 350 and 500 metres, with the underground network extending across approximately 30 kilometres of galleries. Four main shafts connected the surface to the workings, two at Seruci and two at Nuraxi Figus, together with inclined access ramps. Annual output in the modern productive phase reached up to 400,000 tonnes of washed coal, with cumulative production of approximately five million tonnes.
Extraction ceased definitively on 31 December 2018. The site is currently managed by Carbosulcis under a European Commission-approved closure plan, with ongoing decommissioning, remediation, and post-industrial conversion projects including the ARIA isotope separation programme and proposals for energy storage and photovoltaic development.
The history of the Nuraxi Figus mine is inseparable from the broader development of the Sulcis coalfield in south-western Sardinia, which holds one of the largest sub-bituminous coal deposits in Europe. The first workings at the site date to the 1930s, when the Società Mineraria Carbonifera Sarda, known as Carbosarda, opened the cantiere under the designation Littoria Prima, or Littoria I, as part of the Fascist autarchic programme to develop domestic energy resources and reduce dependence on imported coal.
The mine continued under Carbosarda through the wartime years and into the postwar period. From the 1950s onwards, following Italy's accession to the European Coal and Steel Community (CECA), the entire Sulcis coal sector entered a prolonged restructuring. Many collieries were closed and activity consolidated into fewer sites. The active workings at Nuraxi Figus were among those retained. By the mid-1960s, the remaining workforce at the Sulcis mines was absorbed into ENEL, which had taken over the energy concessions in the basin. ENEL's period of ownership was characterised by reduced or suspended extraction, as the coal was considered economically uncompetitive.
Carbosulcis S.p.A. was constituted in 1976 by EGAM and the Ente Minerario Sardo to take over from ENEL the ownership and management of the still-active Sulcis coal concessions. Carbosulcis subsequently renamed the Nuraxi Figus cantiere after the nearby hill of Monti'e Sinnì (the monte dei segni, meaning hill of signs, referring to Nuragic archaeological remains), giving rise to the designation Miniera di Monte Sinni. Production under Carbosulcis during the first phase remained limited, with the company maintaining the mine in care and maintenance rather than full output.
In 1988, extraction resumed at the Monte Sinni mine under a new arrangement supported by public funding, with the aim of finding a viable market outlet for Sulcis coal through gasification and thermoelectric use. During this modern productive phase, the mine worked coal at depths of between 350 and 500 metres below surface (equivalent to between 200 and 400 metres below sea level). The underground network comprised approximately 30 kilometres of accessible galleries. Four main shafts served the combined Seruci–Nuraxi Figus operation: two at Seruci (Pozzo 1 and Pozzo 2) and two at Nuraxi Figus, supplemented by inclined access ramps. Ventilation was maintained through two intake shafts and two return shafts, with surface fan installations. The mine produced an average of up to 400,000 tonnes of washed coal per year during the active phase, and in total produced approximately five million tonnes of coal over its modern operative life.
In 1995, Carbosulcis was placed on the market for privatisation, but no buyers came forward and the auction was declared void. The company remained in regional public ownership. By 2014, the European Commission had approved a phased closure plan for the concession, with a stated deadline of 31 December 2026 for full remediation and decommissioning. Extraction wound down progressively and ceased definitively on 31 December 2018, formally ending coal mining in Italy.
Following closure, Carbosulcis implemented a post-mining conversion programme. This included the ARIA project, developed in partnership with the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, which involves the use of the deep shafts at the Seruci component of the concession for the cryogenic separation of stable isotopes including Argon-40 for dark matter research. In parallel, projects have been advanced for photovoltaic energy generation on the reclaimed surface areas, the development of gravitational energy storage within the underground workings in collaboration with the Swiss firm Energy Vault, and research into underground energy storage in partnership with the University of Cagliari. Reclamation and remediation of the Nuraxi Figus landfill areas were ongoing as of 2023, with the site expected to be ready for new industrial uses within the framework of the 2026 closure deadline. The Nuraxi Figus site retains its surface infrastructure including shaft headframes and pithead buildings.