Iron mine provides golden opportunity in Granada Province

A GRANADA Province mine could mean jobs for Almeria. Four years after plans to reopen Alquife mine in Granada’s Marquesado del Zenete area were first discussed, iron ore could be extracted by the end of this year. This will then be exported through Almeria and Carboneras.

The mining rights have now been transferred to Minas de Alquife, announced Jose Sanchez Maldonado who heads the regional government’s Employment, Business and Commerce department.

He recently met company representatives and the mayors from towns in the area, confirming the mine could reopen. The process was “complicated” Sanchez Maldonado admitted, and included negotiating with Spain’s rail track operator Adif to reopen a disused branch line for transporting the ore.

If Minas de Alquife’s predictions are correct, the mines will produce 4 million tons of ore a year, creating direct employment for 350 people and 700 indirect jobs after investing around €250 million in the area.