Bellmunt del Priorat Lead Mine and Museum

A visit to the Eugènia mine at Bellmunt will take you down to the heart of the Earth, whilst explaining the day to day life of the miners of the town. Life in this little village was very different from the usual activity of the other villages of the Priorat.

The Eugènia mine was the largest and most important of the mines in the Priorat region. There are 14km of underground galleries and it goes down to 620m. It also yielded a great deal of lead. Lead was extracted in its natural state as "galena" and was then made into lingots for export.  The exportation of lead in the Priorat reached its peak round about this time, although lead has been mined in this area since Prehistoric times.

In the nineteenth century, the company which owned the mine,  “Minas del Priorato, SA”, built a series of buildings to accommodate the influx of miners from other mining regions of Spain. The "Casa de les Mines" (House of the MIne) was built in 1905 in the Art Nouveau style and was used as the main residence for the director and his family. It was also used for the laboratories and the company offices. The whole metallurgic complex ran until 1972 when the mine eventually closed.

The Eugènia mine is made up of 20 underground floors. The guided visits take you to the first floor at about 35m. below the surface and the visitor walks 700m of this first gallery. 

Opening Hours (tours, advanced boking required):

September - June:

Saturday: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 4:00-6:00 p.m. (guided tour at 4:30 p.m.)
Sunday and Public Holidays: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Monday to Friday, guided tours by appointment only

July - August:

Tuesday - Saturday: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Sunday and Public Holidays: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Closed: 24 December - 15 January

Prices:

General (museum and guided tour): 8 €
General (museum): 3 €
Reduced (museum and guided tour): 6 € (+65 yrs, 8-16 yrs, groups of 15 or more, student card, Carnet Jove, Carnet Club Xatic and large families)
Reduced (museum): 2 € (+65 yrs, 8-16 yrs, groups of 15 or more, student card, Carnet Jove, Carnet Club xatic and large families)
Special reduced (museum and guided tour): 5 € (teaching card, scholar groups, groups of more than 15, have to be +65 yrs, travel tours)
Free: (under 8 yrs, Club Súper 3, and ICOM's members)