Panasqueira (Portugal)

Minas da Panasqueira or Mina da Panasqueira (English: 'Panasqueira mine') is the generic name for a set of mining operations in Portugal between Cabeço do Pião (Fundão municipality) and the village of Panasqueira (Covilhã municipality), which has operated in a technically integrated and continuous manner practically since the discovery of tin and tungsten ore there. Subsequently, it was agglomerated into a single administrative entity called Couto Mineiro da Panasqueira (English: 'Panasqueira Mining Reserve') which had its last demarcation on 9 March 1971 and later on in the present C-18 Mining Concession (16 December 1992). The mining facilities are currently centralized in the area of Barroca Grande – Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis (Covilhã) through which the current underground operation, ore extraction and processing facilities are accessed. The mine has been operating nearly without interruption since 1901, with a strong impact on the identity, history and current society of Beira Interior in general and Cova da Beira in particular. It is also known worldwide in the tungsten (wolfram) industry, not only for its quality and volume of production, duration and adaptability of operation; but also due to the maturity of the technical solutions both underground and in ore processing.