Colmenarejo’s Mining Past

We did this route after attending one of the presentations of the book “Historical Mining in Colmenarejo, 2023 edition“, which is available for free in an updated PDF format, downloadable from the Projecto Verde Colmenarejo website. I personally recommend checking it out, as it also offers other digital editions like the Environmental Inventory of Colmenarejo: Invertebrates, Mushrooms, Birds, Mammals, and Herptiles.

Specifically, the book “Historical Mining in Colmenarejo” (2023 edition) offers a review and expansion of a previous publication about the mining history of this Madrid municipality. The authors, Hortensia Chamorro, Carlos González-Amezúa, and Luis Jordá, delve into the evolution of local mining, highlighting the Antigua Pilar mine, whose exploitation was key to the local economy in the 19th century. The book also explores the geological processes that gave rise to the minerals extracted and presents the story of the last miners, including a valuable correspondence between two significant figures from the final mining era. This work aims to preserve and promote the mining heritage of Colmenarejo, freely accessible in digital format to prevent its legacy from being forgotten.

We started the route in the Las Cuestas Urbanization and descended along the Arroyo del Membrillo to take the ascent of the Colada del Cerro del Burro, leading us to the first stop, the Antigua Pilar Mine. Then, we continued by visiting some of the entrances to the Los Quemados 2 mines, which are sealed. Next, we visited the fenced Mina Jaume and then Los Quemados 1, which is also fenced. The route continued to the Mina Ramón, notable for its quartz extraction accumulation, and we finished with the ruins of the Old Smelter.

We closed the circuit by climbing the granite rocks of Cuesta Blanca and returned via trails to Las Cuestas. A great way to explore the mining heritage of Colmenarejo in the Regional Park of the Middle Course of the Guadarrama River.

  • Pasado Minero de Colmenarejo

Video

Map

Total distance: 12539 m
Max elevation: 882 m
Total climbing: 612 m
Total time: 03:38:48

Download Track

GPS-bttmania-tracks150