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
Thanks go to Cris Ebbs, John Piggott and Peter Peacock
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 |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine, |
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Akamas Mine |
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Mineral |
Magnesite |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. |
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Short trial level to west of hill |
Spoil heap |
Open cut |
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Short levels |
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Kiln for producing magnesium oxide |
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Amiandos Mine |
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Mineral |
Blue Asbestos |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. 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. |
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Open pit workings |
Hopper |
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Loading bays |
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2009 Update by Peter Peacock
The
picture below was taken in 1961 from near the top of Mount Olympus
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Arminou Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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 |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. |
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Collapsed cave system |
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Fenix Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper. |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known. It may be an open pit, now used for water
storage. |
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Hadjipavlou Mine |
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Mineral |
Chromite. |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. |
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Collapsed tower |
Storage building |
Main mine buildings from above |
Hopper |
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Classifier |
Power plant |
Electric winding engine |
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Main shaft |
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Underground truck |
Two cages |
Open adit |
View inside adit |
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Terminal for aerial cableway |
Cableway route down
mountain |
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Latchi Mine |
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Mineral |
Magnesite |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. |
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Looking up shaft |
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Limni (Kinousa) Mine |
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Mineral |
Iron pyrites and copper pyrites. |
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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. |
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Visited |
2002 |
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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. |
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View towards sea and tips |
Pit from last period of working |
Aerial cableway tower |
Hopper |
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Jaw crusher made in Leicester |
Ball mills made in Stockton |
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Rotary buddle |
Large buddle |
Mine office on main road |
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Pier for loading onto ships |
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2009 Update by John Piggott
The Processing Plant site was visited on 24 September
2007. Much has changed since 2002 with equipment
being removed and some areas partially restored. The mine closed in 1977/78
and the site is now owned by Limni Golf Resorts. Their plan is to build a
golf course and four hotels on the site with the large, dried out tailings
pond (tailings mound) being moved to backfill the opencast pit! On the plant site the following are still in place: Crushing Plant : Loading ramp, hopper, elevator leading to
top of crusher building, forage building and Frederick Parker jaw crusher at
ground level. This plant has been used
for crushing magnesite since the mine closed and the jaw crusher was probably
installed at that time ( a flowsheet I have from 1971 does not include a Fred
Parker crusher). The ball mills next to this plant have been removed with
only the concrete bases remaining. Near this plant is a large rectangular
tank with wooden sides. Thickeners : The concrete tanks previously
described as circular buddles (and around 40ft in diameter) are the remains of the bases of thickeners
used in the process to separate very finely ground mineral from the dissolved
copper salts. The larger concrete tank below these was the base for the 100
ft diameter thickener used for the tailings with the thickened underflow
being pumped to the adjacent tailing dam (which is now a 100+ ft high flat-topped mound).
The inclined entrance below this is not an entrance to the mine but is where
the tailings pumps would have been installed underneath the thickener. The
old tailings pipeline is still in place leading up the side of the tailings dam. The rows of cementation tanks in the valley
previously seen in 2002 are no longer visible having been covered by material
either infilled or washed down from higher up. This whole area of the site and the side of
the tailings dam is covered with large amounts of pyrite concentrate which
was presumably left unsold when the mine closed. Buildings : Those along the access road
include garages , workshops and stores as well as a small hospital near the
main road. Many of these buildings are still being used for various
industrial uses and at least one new one built. The mine office on the main
road is still used as a post office as well being the office for Limni Golf
Resorts. Here I met Andreas Vournaris who was very helpful. He now works for
the Development Company. but previously worked at the mine and has been
employed here for around 50 years. Jetty : The old jetty has now been
demolished and a new one is being built in its place. This is very nearly
finished and will form part of a marina development. Adjacent to the jetty are
the remnants of the concreted storage areas where the two types of
concentrates were sun dried before being loaded onto barges. The two original
buildings at the pier are still in place whilst the electric crane which was
seen at the end of the pier in 2002 has now been removed onto the plant site
near the stores building. This crane was unlikely to have originally sited at
the end of the pier (and used for the final loading of the 50 ton barges) as
1971 photographs show the loading being done along a conveyor system.
A description of the plant as it was in
1971 is given in a paper written by T O Tennery and B G Pocock and published in the Journal of
the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in Jan 1972. |
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Kalavosos Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper. |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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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 |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine |
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Mathati Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper. |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. |
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Visited |
2003. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine. |
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Mavrouvoni Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. Note that it lies in the Turkish occupied zone. |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine. May be an open pit. |
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Mitsero Mine
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Pegeia Cave |
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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. |
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Visited |
2001 |
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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 |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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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 |
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Mineral |
Copper |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine |
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Xyliatos Mine |
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Mineral |
Copper. |
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Directions |
Location found on map but exact position may be inaccurate. |
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Visited |
Not visited. |
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Remains |
Not known but probably copper mine. |
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Last updated 9th September 2009