MINES OF CYPRUS
AMIANDOS MINE Mineral Blue Asbestos Directions Follow the road east from Troodos until it descends into a large valley. On the right you will see an extensive area of graded terraces which was the open pit. Visited 2002 Remains As the road from Troodos starts to descend into the valley, there is a barred entrance on the right with two stone loading bays nearby. A track goes past this and round to the main site where there are many buildings. We had no time to explore. Further down the road is a layby with a viewing platform of the workings and a display board detailing the history. The text of this is as follows :- "The area laying ahead of you is the Amiantos Mine which operated during the period 1904-1988 and is situated in the Troodos Mountain Range. The Troodos range geologically constitutes part of an ancient geological ocean floor and has been known as the Troodos Ophiolithic Complex. It consists of asbestos veins in the form of chrysotile veins scattered within serpentine (serpentinized charzburgite) appearing in the central part of the range at altitude of 1500 meters. The thickness of the veins ranges between just a few millimetres to 2 centimetres. Cyprus is considered to be one of the oldest asbestos sources and until recently it has been one of the largest crocidolite asbestos producing areas in Europe. Mining and use of asbestos in Cyprus has been carried out since ancient times and in particular the Classical and Roman Ages. Asbestos this fibrous mineral was used for making incineration plaques for the dead, shoes, wicks for lamps, and for other purposes. The more recent history of the mine as well as the large scale exploitation of asbestos begun when asbestos was being used for the manufacturing of asbestos slates, bricks, heat insulation, pipes, motor vehicle brakes etc. The first mining lease in Cyprus was signed in 1904 in this area and included 600 hectares of land within the state forest of Troodos. Asbestos mining during the first decades of this century was carried out by primitive means, mainly simple tools and was done manually. This was the period when the largest number of personnel had been employed here. It is said that during the 1930s the number of people employed at the mine, including those manning various services exceeded 10,000! Around the mine, a small community was created, with people living in houses or temporary dwellings. It was a time when the mine provided more income to the economy than any other single industry or enterprise in the island. Most people employed at the mine originated from the surrounding villages, there were however people from every corner of the island, in particular people coming from poor areas. The community provided a large and fully equipped hospital, a school, a police station, a cinema, grocery shops, butchery, coffee shops and in general all commodities found in every small town. As the years went by, business begun to become increasingly mechanised until 1949-1950, when a large-scale mechanisation in the mining and processing of asbestos was implemented. The annual production of asbestos fibres ranged between 20,000 to 40,000 tons. The number of employees begun to decrease and many houses and in particular the empty ones were dismantled. Until the end of the mine in 1988, mining of asbestos was carried out in an area covering 220 hectares or 2,200 decares. In this stretch the forest was cleared, the soil was removed and every form of natural life was destroyed, it is estimated that during this period a million tons of crocidolite asbestos fibres were mined and in order to carry out this task 130 million tons of rocks and soil were excavated and moved. It is worth noting that for the transportation of the asbestos to Limassol port an aerial ropeway 30 km long was established and operated until 1942. According to existing records all the quantity of asbestos fibres produced was exported and sold to European countries yielding approximately 75,000,000 pounds to the owner company Cyprus Asbestos Mines Ltd. Following a decision by the Council of Ministers in 1992 the exploitation license was annulled and two years later the Council of Ministers determined that the mine should be closed down permanently. In addition, it was decided that environmental reclamation works should commence and that the area of the mine should be developed. The biggest environmental problems created were the huge crater in the area of the quarry, the extensive piles of debris placed on steep slopes and in valleys as well as the pollution of surface waters and dam catchment areas with asbestos fibres, with possible effect on public safety and health. Works for the restoration of the environment commenced in the year 1996 and include stabilisation and reclamation of the debris as well as re-vegetation and reforestation. Priority was given to the piles of waste which could under the circumstances impose dangers to the properties situated below the mine. These works are continuing at a steady pace and it is expected that the whole area of the mine will be covered before 2010. For reforestation purposes 30 different species of plants are being used including perennial herbs, shrubs and trees. The seed is collected from the surrounding forests the object being to create mixed forest plant communities similar to the vegetation of the surrounding area. For reforestation purposes fertile soil shall be required to be transported and laid (around one million cubic meters for the whole mine area will be required) and this task is not only costly but it requires specialised techniques as well, and the plants require more care. Works are expected to cost many millions of pounds and the funds will be covered by annual state budget. In addition to the reclamation works being carried out, the competent state services are considering ways of future development of the mine area for recreation purposes for tourism and for environmental education. These plans are expected to start being developed when reclamation works are nearly completed." This is not a good place to be when it is dry and windy as no attempt has been made to cover the asbestos dust. Considering the harmful effect of blue asbestos, it seems surprising that not much effort has been made to obstruct access to the site or make it safer. Although it would probably take millions of tons of topsoil to cover over all of the exposed workings. Open pit workings
	Hopper			Loading bay
2009 Update by Peter Peacock The picture below was taken in 1961 from near the top of Mount Olympus