Mercury mining museum

Abstract

Mercury mining districts have recently been the site of intense cultural activities, for example: at Abbadia San Salvatore, where the Italian mercury mines of Monte Amiata are located, the first Congress on Preservation of Mining Heritage in Italy1 was held on November 15, 1991; in Almadén, the First Scientific Session of the Spanish Society for the Protection of the Geological and Mining Heritage2 took place on October 21-22, 1996; and the sixth International Symposium on Cultural Heritage in Geosciences, Mining and Metallurgy in Idria, Slovenia, was held on June 17-21, 2002. The main mercury mines in the western countries were transformed into museums. The most remarkable one is in Idria, Slovenia, which is a candidate for UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Table 1 gives the world mercury production during the life of the mines