A sustainable integration of mining activity and geo-tourism: a case study in Northern Italy.

Abstract

Every mining activity has a footprint on the territory. The signs left by mining operations are physical, such as tunnels, extractive waste facilities, dressing plants, but also economic and social, because the mine generates employment, income and knowledge. The signs left by mining operations are tangible (presence of tunnels, extractive waste facilities, dressing plants, etc..) and cause environmental, social and economic impacts, in terms of employment, income, knowledge, potential risks (if not well managed and monitored). In the extraordinary context of the Germanasca Valley, mining has coexisted for hundreds of years with the mountain environment of the Alps and with the local population and has become a fundamental part, intimately connected with the territory and with the local economic and social fabric. The progressive migration of mining activity at lower altitudes has left behind old mining structures that here, more than elsewhere, they have been able to adapt, at least in part, for the benefit of new forms of industrial and geo-tourism. Similarly, the technological advance and the evolution of mining production, towards a higher quality product, with a consequent reduction in the quantities exploited has led over time to a progressive reduction in the number of miners employed. The resilience of the local population, however, has allowed to absorb the contraction of work in the mine transforming former miners in tourist guides and increasing the activities induced, passing from the previous model "in house" to an “outsourcing” model, where many mine-related activities are outsourced. The transformation of old mines into museums has certainly contributed to the development of the area, particularly considering a rediscovery tourism that has little to do with the "fast and junk" tourism that has grown lately. The challenge is to understand how much weight geo-tourism, in the specific case of mining, has on the attractiveness of a place, starting with the concrete example of Germanasca Valley. The investigated area can be recognised as a case study to analyse the close connection between still active mining activity and territorial development, associated both to mineral production and geo-tourism.   KEY WORDS Sustainable mining, post-mining, industrial tourism, geo-tourism, mining tourism, talc.