The Fígols-St. Cornelius

42º 10' 16'' N 1º 47' 16'' E

North-East

Spain

Description

The Fígols-St. Cornelius basin located in Berguedà has one of the highest content of carbonaceous sediments in Catalonia. Fígols is a municipality in the comarca of the Berguedà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated to the north of Cercs, in the mountains above the Llobregat valley. Deposits of lignite are extracted commercially.

Extracted Materials

This is an area with great lithological diversity, with layers of sandstone, lutites, marl, limestone and coal.

Sociologal info

This is a very sensitive area in terms of the socio-economic characteristics, since mining has been the basis of the economy for many years. Although the mines are now closed, their cultural presence is still very strong.

Archaeological info

The materials that emerge in this area are part of the Lower Perdaforca thrust sheet structure known as the Syncline of Vallcebre with a dip in the area of St. Cornelius of 30 º NW. The Garumnià Berguedà basin covers some 200 km² with a maximum depth of 850 metres. The sediments are around 70 million years old, corresponding to continental river and lake deposits. Coal is found in the Garumnià series above a white limestone base of between 5 and 10 metres in thickness.

Sustainable tourism insights

The Figols is one of Catalonia's most significant areas for mining heritage and is currently undergoing restoration and adaptation to new tourism activities including the Cercs Museum of Mining. The area is in very good state of conservation. All mining area are being restored using public and private investment to create a Mountain Park aimed at tourist and educational groups

Environment sustainability

The entire area of St. Cornelius Fígols bears the scars of mining but the impact in many areas has been minimized by restoration. Currently, the area presents no threats, with low visitor numbers to the mines and effective environmental and tourism management.