Museo Minero de Riotinto
Museum in the former hospital of the Rio Tinto Company, with 5,000 years of mining history across 17 rooms and a reconstructed Roman mine.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museo Minero de Riotinto, named after Ernest Lluch, first president of the Fundación Río Tinto, occupies the former hospital of the Rio Tinto Company Limited. The building was designed in 1921 for the staff of the British company, which operated the mines between 1873 and 1954, and it functioned as a hospital from 1927 to 1983.
The Fundación Río Tinto was founded in 1987, with the aim, among others, of creating a mining museum. In 1988 the building was handed over, and two years later its restoration began. The facilities opened to the public in 1992, as part of the initiatives to establish the Parque Minero de Riotinto (Riotinto Mining Park).
The route presents five thousand years of mining history in the region across 17 rooms, covering archaeology, geology, anthropology, engineering, medicine, education, history and economics. Visitors can walk through a reconstructed Roman mine, see the mineral collection of the Faja Pirítica Ibérica (Iberian Pyrite Belt), extraction machinery and steam locomotives, and experience the luxury of a Hindu maharaja. The museum forms part of the Parque Minero together with the Casa 21, the mining railway and the Peña de Hierro and Corta Atalaya mines.
Highlights
- Reconstruction of a Roman mine
- Mineral collection of the Iberian Pyrite Belt
- Extraction machinery and steam locomotives
- 17 rooms covering 5,000 years of mining
- Casa 21 and the English quarter of Bella Vista in the same visit
Permanent exhibitions
- Mina romana reconstruida – Reconstruction of an underground Roman-era mine on the ground floor, which visitors can walk through.
- Geología y minerales de la Faja Pirítica Ibérica – Mineral collection and rooms on the geological secrets of the area's subsoil.
- Sala del ferrocarril de Riotinto – Room dedicated to the historic mining railway, with several steam locomotives.
- Founded
- 1992
- Operated by
- Fundación Río Tinto
Admission & discounts
| Groups (30+ people) | –Groups of at least 30 people: book by phone. |
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Tickets are bought online on the Parque Minero website, and there are combined packages with the Casa 21, the mining railway, the Peña de Hierro mine and Corta Atalaya. Tickets are non-refundable, but the date can be changed with at least 48 hours' notice.
Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | Visits with pets are allowed; inside the museum, pets must be carried in arms or in a carrier. The Casa 21 is open every day from 16:30 to 19:00. |
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