Mine closure in Ouro Preto: the remnants of the 18th century gold rush and the tourism as an economic opportunity

Viviane Da Silva Borges Barbosa,Hernani Mota De Lima,Bráulio Magalhães Fonseca,Sandro Laudares

doi:10.1590/0370-44672018720131

Abstract

Abstract Mine closure is the set of all activities that follow the end of the productive phase of a mine, characterizing itself as the process of returning an area transformed by mining into a new condition of sustainability, considering the potential future and the best possible reclamation of the area impacted. However, such an understanding was not conceivable during the Colonial Period, a time when gold mining took place in the Ouro Preto Hill, among others, and nearly 200 years after the end of the gold rush, negative and positive impacts are revealed by the human interaction and the urban occupation on those mined areas. Through both geographic information data of eighteenth-century mining traces and a socioeconomic study involving six tourist gold mines, this article describes how overcoming paradigms involving underground mines have resulted in business opportunities, setting a success example of Mine Closure and future use of the area, showing an alternative way to handle the current abandoned mines.

Highlights

The region of Ouro Preto was the scene of an intense gold rush in the 18th century and testimonies of this activity can still be found today
The 18th Century Gold Rush occurred throughout the flanks of the Mariana Anticline and its hinge zone (Ouro Preto Hill, Antônio Pereira Hill and Passagem de Mariana Hill, respectively)
All records are included in a free geographic information system, such as Google My Maps© or ESRI ArcGIS Online©, which make it possible to view the records on upgraded maps or satellite images, as well as offer functionalities of geoprocessing

Summary

Introduction

The region of Ouro Preto was the scene of an intense gold rush in the 18th century and testimonies of this activity can still be found today. The Ouro Preto Hill, object of this article, is the Southwestern flank of the Mariana Anticline and the mine remnants are spread over an inhabited part of the town, public and private properties. 8 underground mines are part of the Ouro Preto tourist itinerary. This is an insignificant figure considering the estimated more than 300 abandoned underground mines that can be found in the region (Laccourt, 1937; Lima and Miranda, 1996; Sobreira and Fonseca, 2001; Sobreira et al, 2005)

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Discussion

Conclusion