Ana concession (Ana Mine), Barredo, Berbes mining area, Ribadesella, Asturias, Spaini
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Ana concession (Ana Mine) | Mine (Inactive) |
| Barredo | - not defined - |
| Berbes mining area | Mining Area |
| Ribadesella | Municipality |
| Asturias | Autonomous Community |
| Spain | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
43° 27' 59'' North , 5° 7' 57'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Mine (Inactive) - last checked 2024
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Caravia | 557 (2008) | 4.8km |
| Ribadesella | 6,245 (2012) | 5.9km |
| Colunga | 3,868 (2012) | 11.3km |
| Cangas de Onís | 6,623 (2012) | 12.8km |
| Parres | 5,749 (2012) | 13.0km |
Name(s) in local language(s):
Concesión Ana (Mina Ana), Minas de Berbes, Ribadesella, Asturies, España
NOTE: This location has been made complicated by people abusing the 'Ana' name when giving the locality. People do this as there are numerous specimens incorrectly labelled 'Ana Mine'.
Historically there was an Ana Vein, which was the host of numerous localities: The mining, via open cast, of the vein was done in open pits such as La Cabaña, El Cueto L’Aspa, El Frondil, Cueto I, Cueto II, Cueto Norte or Bloque IV besides La Gusteriza. These pits provided a great number of excellent specimens of fluorite, associated mainly with quartz and barite. This vein has also been called the 'Ana Concession' - and it covers many of the Berbes Localities. Since it is hard to know which open pit the specimens come from we tend to say 'Berbes' unless the precise pit or find is known, for example, the Liso Pocket.
A complication was that there was also an Ana mine in the Berbes area - but it produced almost none of the specimens from 'Berbes', so unless the specimen was traced to the mine we have to discount it. A simple rule is 'if there is any baryte it is not from the Ana Mine'.
The final complication was that the plant where the fluorspar from the numerous Minersa mines is processed is the Torre Plant, which has been called by many collectors the 'Ana Mine' (it was even marked 'Mina Ana' on the Open Street Map MinDat uses until edited). There is no mine there, just the ore ready for processing. Thus things found at that plant may come from any of the Minersa mines. If we know the date they were found it might hint at the mine it came from, but that is only a hint. Failing that we just have to label them 'Asturias' as they could be from so many mines.
---------------------------------
This mining claim was marked out for iron with the number 17394 in 1910 by Raimundo Fueyo, a resident of Santander. Since 1868 there are many references for this mineral in the northern foothills of the Sueve range such as La Toya Mine, whose trenchs cross the county road from Colunga to Arriondas.
The Lipperheide Group, then represented by SOMIMET (Sociedad Bilbaína de Minerales y Metales S.A.) already knew of the presence of fluorspar in this concession as well as in Agustina concession, both owned by the aforementioned Raimundo Fueyo. Given the strategic interest of the fluorspar in that historical time, in the middle of the World War, they negotiated and obtained both demarcations in addition to others in the surrounding area, the Sueve mines owned by J.A. Zuberrigoitia.
In the initial stage the mineral was mined via an open cast quarry until in 1950, the company, already Minersa, began the operation of the Ana vein via underground mining through a shaft located in the 9th km of the road Ribadesella-Canero (N-632).
At that time the flagship of the Minersa Group, the Ana Mine, was born. The development of this underground mine that continued over years, from 1950 to its closure in May, 1968, created a network of galleries with four levels from which curiously very few specimens were collected because nobody usually collected them and they ended up in the concentration plant located in the neighboring locality of Torre.
The vicinity of the mine to the Bay of Biscay created a great difficulty for the works in the galleries that ran below the sea, so below level 106, which made the mining more expensive due to the need of continuous pumping of the water that flooded the galleries. All these factors in addition of the decrease of the ore quality caused the decline and the final closure of this operation.
Considering the facts, it is necessary to differentiate the Ana Mine itself from the Ana vein. The mining, via open cast, of the same vein in open pits as La Cabaña, El Cueto L’Aspa, El Frondil, Cueto I, Cueto II, Cueto Norte or Bloque IV besides La Gusteriza provided a great number of excellent specimens of fluorite, associated mainly with quartz and barite, for the Spanish and international mineralogy.
This differentiation is fundamental when considering Berbes mining area, for the majority if not all the specimens in private collections and museums do not come from Ana Mine itself but from the open pit quarries on the same vein. However, it is necessary to mention that there was also an operation in the mining area with the name of “Ana concession”.
Historically there was an Ana Vein, which was the host of numerous localities: The mining, via open cast, of the vein was done in open pits such as La Cabaña, El Cueto L’Aspa, El Frondil, Cueto I, Cueto II, Cueto Norte or Bloque IV besides La Gusteriza. These pits provided a great number of excellent specimens of fluorite, associated mainly with quartz and barite. This vein has also been called the 'Ana Concession' - and it covers many of the Berbes Localities. Since it is hard to know which open pit the specimens come from we tend to say 'Berbes' unless the precise pit or find is known, for example, the Liso Pocket.
A complication was that there was also an Ana mine in the Berbes area - but it produced almost none of the specimens from 'Berbes', so unless the specimen was traced to the mine we have to discount it. A simple rule is 'if there is any baryte it is not from the Ana Mine'.
The final complication was that the plant where the fluorspar from the numerous Minersa mines is processed is the Torre Plant, which has been called by many collectors the 'Ana Mine' (it was even marked 'Mina Ana' on the Open Street Map MinDat uses until edited). There is no mine there, just the ore ready for processing. Thus things found at that plant may come from any of the Minersa mines. If we know the date they were found it might hint at the mine it came from, but that is only a hint. Failing that we just have to label them 'Asturias' as they could be from so many mines.
---------------------------------
This mining claim was marked out for iron with the number 17394 in 1910 by Raimundo Fueyo, a resident of Santander. Since 1868 there are many references for this mineral in the northern foothills of the Sueve range such as La Toya Mine, whose trenchs cross the county road from Colunga to Arriondas.
The Lipperheide Group, then represented by SOMIMET (Sociedad Bilbaína de Minerales y Metales S.A.) already knew of the presence of fluorspar in this concession as well as in Agustina concession, both owned by the aforementioned Raimundo Fueyo. Given the strategic interest of the fluorspar in that historical time, in the middle of the World War, they negotiated and obtained both demarcations in addition to others in the surrounding area, the Sueve mines owned by J.A. Zuberrigoitia.
In the initial stage the mineral was mined via an open cast quarry until in 1950, the company, already Minersa, began the operation of the Ana vein via underground mining through a shaft located in the 9th km of the road Ribadesella-Canero (N-632).
At that time the flagship of the Minersa Group, the Ana Mine, was born. The development of this underground mine that continued over years, from 1950 to its closure in May, 1968, created a network of galleries with four levels from which curiously very few specimens were collected because nobody usually collected them and they ended up in the concentration plant located in the neighboring locality of Torre.
The vicinity of the mine to the Bay of Biscay created a great difficulty for the works in the galleries that ran below the sea, so below level 106, which made the mining more expensive due to the need of continuous pumping of the water that flooded the galleries. All these factors in addition of the decrease of the ore quality caused the decline and the final closure of this operation.
Considering the facts, it is necessary to differentiate the Ana Mine itself from the Ana vein. The mining, via open cast, of the same vein in open pits as La Cabaña, El Cueto L’Aspa, El Frondil, Cueto I, Cueto II, Cueto Norte or Bloque IV besides La Gusteriza provided a great number of excellent specimens of fluorite, associated mainly with quartz and barite, for the Spanish and international mineralogy.
This differentiation is fundamental when considering Berbes mining area, for the majority if not all the specimens in private collections and museums do not come from Ana Mine itself but from the open pit quarries on the same vein. However, it is necessary to mention that there was also an operation in the mining area with the name of “Ana concession”.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
- Cantabrian-Pyrenean BeltOrogenic Belt
EuropeContinent
Iberian PeninsulaPeninsula
Spain
- Asturias
- Ribadesella
- Berbes mining areaMining Area
- Ribadesella
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
Ana concession, Berbes, Berbes mining area, Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain