The Lost World: The End of Mining in the Cantabrian Region

Mining can be considered a 'world,' and the word 'lost' encompasses many realities, from the loss of jobs to the loss of traditions and a way of life, loss as abandonment (of places, of infrastructure), of a culture tied to the dictates of life and the rhythms of the mine.

Abandoned metal structures, windows with broken glass, crumbling coal washhouses. There are places that evoke distress, as if inhabited by an evil spirit. The entire mountain range is riddled with old coal mines. There were golden times, villages filled with young miners, noisy bars, and schools with children. And clandestine brothels. And gambling tables in the back rooms of local establishments. The coal fever. Money flowed everywhere. But gradually, the industry withered away; coal was no longer profitable, it couldn't compete with gas, they said; extracting it from the earth was too costly, they said; and they began closing mines amid strikes and protests that yielded no results. This is what remains of a human exodus.