Europe has a long mining history dating back to the Bronze Age (3300 - 1200 BC). While early mining focused on a minor selection of metals, the range of commodities mined has greatly expanded over this time period and include ornamental stone, industrial minerals, fuel minerals as well as metal mines. Several of these sites have had over 1,000 years of continuous mining activity while others measure their life in decades or less. This project has catalogued historic sites where the mining legacy has significant cultural and historic value within the landscape. These sites now host a range of museums, nature parks, trails and historic interpretative centres, creating a positive legacy following the cessation of extraction.

A story map has been created from the database to provide an accessible portal for all people interested in the sites catalogued within the project. All sites shown within the maps have associated tourism amenities and are open to visitors. They represent a wide swathe of Europe's mining history and include UNESCO world heritage sites, UNESCO Global Geoparks and national parks.

This project was led and managed by Geological Survey Ireland within the GeoERA Mintell4EU project.

You can access the interactive Historic Mine Sites Story Map HERE