Mines & Caves of Cyprus

Adrian Pearce, John Davies & Nick Southwick

The following results from a holiday to the island in April 2002 when several mining sites were visited. Our major problem was just finding the location of the mines since local maps are not detailed enough and we wasted a lot of time searching in the wrong places. This preliminary survey shows that there is a lot of potential for finding both surface and underground mining remains in Cyprus. It needs about two weeks surveying the sites ... an excuse for a future holiday! Thanks go to Cris Ebbs for input and photos. If you have any comments or contributions please email us at mininghistory@hotmail.com

[click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of a map or picture]

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Agia Napa Mine
Mineral	Copper.
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate.
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine,

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Akamas Mine
Mineral	Magnesite
Directions	Take road from Latchi to Neo Chordio and follow it where it becomes a track up to the Smijies Picnic Site. Follow the waymarked trail to the far side of the double hill and look for the mine entrances on either side of the track.
Visited	5/4/02.
Remains	Above and below the track are three separate areas of workings. The most western has a small tip above and next to the track, with a large open cut working and two blind adits about 3ft high. Further east above the track there are several small entrances, irregular in shape and looking fairly old in origin with only hand tool marks. One of these levels is larger and there is what looks like a large shot hole at the end. This, however, could have been an exploration drilling. Further east again are more small entrances below the track. Next to the last set of workings below the track is also an early 20th Century kiln which has been preserved. To the west of the northern hill is an isolated trial adit that only goes in for a few feet. It is believed that the mineral was used as whitewash for houses plus for medicinal purposes. The initial impression is that these appear to be old workings. However, since the material was probably extracted by local farmers, etc with no great mining skills, it is possible that they just copied earlier techniques. One of the adits seems to date from the 20th century from its shape and size. It would be interesting to try and date these workings.
Short trial level to west of hill		Spoil heap	Open cut
Short levels
Kiln for producing magnesium oxide

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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	8/4/02.
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 (sepentinized 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 bays

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Arminou Mine
Mineral	Copper
Directions	Take the track from Arminou heading north towards Pera Vasa. There is a small tip on the left next to the track before it bends to the right.
Visited	10/4/02.
Remains	This is a small copper mine and visited 10/4/02. The front of the tip contains a lot of copper and iron pyrite mineralisation but the hillside behind is covered in heavy undergrowth. This contains especially vicious spiky plants so we were unable to investigate what was there - take a machete next time!

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Avakas Gorge
Directions	Follow the road north out of Pathos to Coral Bay, then take the track north towards Lara. Avakas Gorge is off to the right and marked.
Visited	9/4/02.
Remains	This is an old vadose cave system where the roof has collapsed to create a steep sided gorge. It would once have been an impressive cave.
Collapsed cave system

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Fenix Mine
Mineral	Copper.
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate.
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known.  It may be an open pit, now used for water storage.

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Hadjipavlou Mine
Mineral	Chromite.
Directions	Follow the road north from Troodos and, opposite the ski lifts on Mount Olympus, look for a radio transmitter on the right with a short tarmac road going up to it. Just before this on the right is a track signposted to Kakopetria. Follow this track for a mile and you will come to two stone buildings on the left. The track beyond this descends and curves back on itself and you will come to a track off left that leads down to the mine buildings below.
Visited	10/4/02.
Remains	The mine is believed to have ceased in 1982 and most of the buildings, etc are still in situ. Of the upper two buildings, one has an engine bed in the floor but no obvious sign of an exit for a winding rope. However, there are the collapsed remains of what looks like a wooden aerial cableway tower next to it. Also, on the other side of the track, where the bank descends steeply, there is a lot of chromite ore as if it has fallen off buckets as they come over the lip. This building is a mystery but maybe there was an aerial cableway up to it in the early stages of the mine. Next to it is a building with rails in the floor which could have been used for ore storage. Below at the main site, as you descend the track there is an office up on the right. The other side of this is a hopper and what may be the terminal of an aerial cableway. There is a grizzly above this and a platform where ore has obviously been dumped before passing through the grizzly. Below the hopper is a trommel. The next building along is a workshop with a large flywheel and electric motor. Then there is a winding house with an electric winder and double drum with cable. In front of this is the main shaft about 15ft square with a landing building built onto one side containing a hopper. Above the shaft are two large iron water tanks and below these a large building of unknown usage, although it appears to have contained machinery at one stage. Outside this are a small u-section mine truck and two cages of unusual design. They are open sided and conical but with a clip to hold a truck in place. Further on is an open adit with rails coming out to a tip. This has wooden props and there has been a bit of a fall just inside, although it seems possible to squeeze past. The track descends to a lower level where there is the terminal of an aerial cableway with about 10 buckets scattered around. The buckets were made of iron with wooden bottoms, 0.75m x 0.5m x 0.5m high. Pylons descend the hill in the direction of Agios Nikolas where we believe there was a processing plant at the road. We had no time to explore this or further downhill where there might be more workings or buildings.
Collapsed tower		Storage buillding	Main mine buildings from above	Hopper
Classifier		Power plant	Electric winding engine
				Main shaft
Underground truck		Two cages	Open adit	View inside adit
Terminal for aerial cableway				Cableway route down mountain

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Latchi Mine
Mineral	Magnesite
Directions	From Latchi, turn left at the road junction signposted to Baths of Aphrodite. Pass the Plaka Hotel on your right and shortly after this follow a track leading up to your left. A few yards up here look for an entrance on your left usually obscured by vegetation.
Visited	4/4/02.
Remains	A short modern mined level leads into the side of two shafts open to surface. These are about 15ft across and a total of 20ft deep with rubble at the bottom. The shafts look old in origin, although the access level is modern. It is possible that the shafts were originally sunk for the mineral and then used during the Greek-Turkish conflict as an observation post.
Looking up shaft

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Limni (Kinousa) Mine
Mineral	Iron pyrites and copper pyrites.
Directions	Follow road east from Polis until you see a pier on the left. This was where the ore was transhipped. Heading back slightly you will see the mine offices on the other side of the road and to the right of this a gate leading to the lower mine buildings. If you carry along the road again you can turn right and follow the road up to the village of Kinousa. Beyond this on the left are the upper mine workings.
Visited	14/4/02.
Remains	The upper workings beyond Kinousa were not visited but we were told by an ex-miner that there used to be two shafts and an aerial cableway to bring the ore down. Following an earthquake, there were fears that the shafts would collapse so they were filled in and operations changed to open pit working. This miner (Chris Savva) lives in Kinousa and is willing to show people around the mine. Part way down the hill from Kinousa is a huge open pit that is partly flooded. This was worked for a low grade sulphide deposit towards the end of the mine's life, which closed in the 1980s. Just above this and also across the valley, the tips of older mine workings can be seen. These might only be trials but were not visited. There is a large explosive store on the western side of the pit, which is well ventilated and has a detonator safe. Footings of other buildings can also be seen here. There is a line of small pylons down the hillside but it is not clear if these were an aerial cableway or to carry power lines to the upper mine workings. Some satin spar (gypsum) was also found on the tracks so there must be a vein of it somewhere on site. At the lower workings, there is a loading ramp leading to a hopper. An elevator rises from the outlet of this and adjacent is a large jaw crusher. There is a building above this but it is difficult to work out what it was for. Next to this is a large storage building. At the time of the visit it contained what looked like crushed magnesite but presumably this is because the equipment was used subsequent to the mine's closure for material brought in from off site. Further on are two complete ball mills and a conical ball mill. These were once covered by a building but are now exposed to the air. All of them were belt-driven off electric motors. Further along are two medium-sized concrete circular buddles. Below these is a large settling tank and a huge circular buddle. Below this is the incline entrance to the mine. It is 20ft wide x 12ft high with fluorescent lighting, however it is flooded a few feet in as it rapidly reaches sea level. Near here are rows of settling tanks where copper was extracted from copper pyrites by precipitation onto scrap iron in tanks. There are 3 older tanks 20ft x 20ft x 2ft deep, divided into 3 compartments. Also 6 newer ones 20ft x 20ft x 10ft deep. Nearer the road are a collection of garages, workshops, stores, etc. One of these buildings has mine plans visible inside. The buildings seem to be used now as small industrial units and one of them is lived in. The gate at the road is locked but it is possible to walk past it. Further along the road are the mine offices. These are still used and we were told that miners still came every month to pick up their pension from the company. Strangely enough, there is a sign saying that they sell stamps so maybe it doubles as a post office. The pier is further along the road and there are two buildings here. The pier is starting to decay but it is reasonably safe to walk along the rails. At the end of the pier is an electric crane. We were told that large diggers brought the iron pyrites across from the main workings and dumped it into a large tip next to the pier. Another digger then loaded it into trucks, which were pushed along the pier, and the ore loaded into barges by the crane. The barges then took it out to a ship. There seems to be a lot of double handling of material here but perhaps labour was cheap enough for it not to matter. The iron pyrites were used for manufacturing sulphuric acid. All over the site, the tracks contain a great deal of iron and copper slag. This indicates that there used to be a smelter here at one time but there are no traces nowadays. Possibly it has been covered over by one of the several large tips that occur between the open pit and the lower road. There are supposed to be some old gold mines in the area which have been lost and maybe these worked gossan deposits on top of the sulphide, now removed.
View towards sea and tips		Pit from last period of working	Aerial cableway tower	Hopper
Jaw crusher made in Leicester		Ball mills made in Stockton
Rotary buddle		Large buddle	Mine office on masin roads
Pier for loading onto ships

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Kalavosos Mine
Mineral	Copper.
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine. We were told that there were a number of old adits here. Around the area there are supposed to be 750,000 tons of slag, being the waste product from the smelting of copper sulphide ores.

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Konnas Mine
Mineral	Copper
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine

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Mathati Mine
Mineral	Copper.
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate.
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine.

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Mavrouvoni Mine
Mineral	Copper
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. Note that it lies in the Turkish occupied zone.
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine. May be an open pit.

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Mitsero Mine

Mineral	Copper
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate
Visited	Not visited
Remains	This is a copper mine. There is supposed to be a headgear still standing, as well as other buildings and opencuts.

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Pegeia Cave
Directions	Near the village of Pegeia just north of Coral Bay. If you call into the local cafe, they will tell you about the place.
Visited	2001
Remains	The entrance is in the foot of a sloping hillside perhaps half a mile South East of the village. A natural cave passage used as a shrine. Not far from Avakas Gorge.

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Skouriotissa Mine
Mineral	Copper
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine. Open pit, possibly now used for water storage. A Roman called Galen visited the mines of Soli (Skouriotissa) in 162 AD. More that two millions tons of copper slag have been found in the Skouriotissa area.

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Troulli Mine
Mineral	Copper
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine

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Xyliatos Mine
Mineral	Copper.
Directions	Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate.
Visited	Not visited.
Remains	Not known but probably copper mine.

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Last updated 21st January 2007