The old and abandoned mine
The old and abandoned mine

The old and abandoned mine

The old and abandoned mine

A walk in the mountain bowels

Heavily damaged by the time, the old copper mine is closed for several years. While its lower floors are completely flooded with muddy and stagnant water, the ground floor was, meanwhile, weakened by a sedimentary rock ceiling that collapsed in some places.

Inside the mine, the relics of a bygone era await there, gnawed by the rust. 30 centimeters of opaque water cover the rails and make this walk risky. The water is cold and you don't see your feets. The humidity through you like a sieve. Ten degrees Celsius also separate the external temperature from the inside. The place is quiet. Except for our feet in the water, we hear only these drops of water falling from the ceiling. In some places, limestone stalactites have formed and are about 30 centimeters long.

When you enter the tunnel, it only takes a few tens of meters to discover a small locomotive, once used to pull wagons filled with the precious ore that was processed on site in facilities located at the exit of the mine.

A little further into the tunnel, we find this old elevator that was used to send the miners in the depths of the mountain. Cemented in order to secure the area, this room is surprising with its ceiling located fifteen meters above the ground. Installations for the elevator are astonishing for this confined area.

Few meters from there, empty wagons located in the different tributaries of the tunnel give us a idea how deep these tunnels goes.

In some places, the contact with water, air and various minerals have gave multiple colored walls. From green to orange through the white, black and yellow, the beauty of the place is surprising.

Outside, the facilities have been destroyed by the weather and different thieves. In some places, the concrete walls were demolished, the tin roof was partially washed away by storms and moisture has invaded the administrative offices. Overall, the place is still in a good shape, given the many years that have passed.

Related content

Cayadutta Tanning
Gloversville, New York (United States)

Located in Gloversville near Albany NY, this abandoned factory is ready to crumble. Before 1870, Gloversville was a small village called Stump City. When it became an incorporated village in 1853, the name was changed to Gloversville due to the...

The pit - Photo: Jarold Dumouchel
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

Built in 1954, the Dickson incinerator was, at the time, the most modern one in North America. It was built to replace these old incinerators where horses were used for harvesting waste.

In the 1920s, the city of Montreal was struggling...

The abandoned Bilbao plant
Bilbao, Vizcaya (Spain)

In the Basque Country there are several generations who have grown up by drinking milk from the Beyena company, a regional source of pride, well beyond its nutritional values. Every day, hundreds of trucks were leaving the factory located in...

Val Rose: the abandoned military plant
Québec City, Quebec (Canada)

The abandoned Val Rose plant is unquestionably one of the most famous spots in Quebec City area. And honestly, I was rather reluctant to go there. Not that I thought the spot wasn't interesting, but in general, a place known as the Val Rose is,...