Ojuela
Encyclopedia
Ojuela was a small mining
settlement
located northwest of the city of Durango, Durango
in northern Mexico. The settlement is now a well known as a ghost town
as a result of the ore
being exhausted.
Ojuela was established after the discovery of a gold
and silver
mine in the area in 1598. The Ojuela Mine produced a large quantity of mineral during the last part of the 19th century. With the advent of the railroad, all the extracted ore were transported away from the mine by train
and processed in the nearby town of Mapimí, Durango.
The origins of the mine can be traced to 1598 when it was discovered by a group of Spanish prospectors. After this discovery, the mineral potential was confirmed and the exploitation begun. Soon the foundations of the town were set. The town was located at the top of a mountain within close proximity to the mines main access. This was done in order to have the workers and other mining staff closest as possible to the operation. The town developed rapidly from a small settlement to a village with all the urban services of that age. This included a post office
, Catholic church, several warehouses, general stores and saloons
.
At the end of the 19th century the property was acquired by the Peñoles
Mining Company. This was one of the first mining operations of this company. At the beginning of the 20th century there were problems with the mining exploitation due to the conflicts and struggles originated by the Mexican Revolution
and with the additional problem of the water presence inside the mine
. At the end of the revolution the operation continued but soon the mineral reserves were exhausted and the company decided to lease it to a local miners co-operative, therefore the town was gradually abandoned. Now there is no mining activity. However, there are a few fossil
, rock and stone sellers and some tour guides.
Currently the main buildings and other structures are in ruins. It is possible to visit this location and recognize the old church, the foundations of the miners houses, the warehouse
s, other mining facilities and to have a guided tour down the access of the former mine. The only surviving and functional structure is a suspension bridge
. The bridge is known as "Puente de Ojuela" (Ojuela Bridge) by the locals. The original bridge was designed by the famous Roebling brothers, who also designed the Brooklyn Bridge. At the time of construction, the Puente de Ojuela was the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It was rebuilt recently by the Peñoles
Company, the original was scrapped and only the main arches are now displayed at the Torreón
Exposition Center.
for its arsenate mineral
s. Ojuela adamite
and legrandite
have set the standard for these species. The 117 species now known from the deposit include adamite (in an array of colors and habits), legrandite, kottigite/parasymplesite, and paradamite, as well as specimens of scorodite
, hemimorphite
, plattnerite
, aurichalcite
, rosasite
, fluorite
, calcite
, wulfenite
and other species. It is also the type locality for paradamite, lotharmeyerite, metakottigite, mapimite and ojuelaite, and the co-type locality for scrutinvite.
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
settlement
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
located northwest of the city of Durango, Durango
Durango, Durango
-Climate:The city of Durango has a semi-arid climate, classified as Bsk in the Koppen system. The climate is temperate in the western portion , with the average annual temperature being 15 °C and consisting of an average annual rainfall of 1,600 millimeters. In the eastern region, the average...
in northern Mexico. The settlement is now a well known as a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
as a result of the ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
being exhausted.
Ojuela was established after the discovery of a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine in the area in 1598. The Ojuela Mine produced a large quantity of mineral during the last part of the 19th century. With the advent of the railroad, all the extracted ore were transported away from the mine by train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
and processed in the nearby town of Mapimí, Durango.
The origins of the mine can be traced to 1598 when it was discovered by a group of Spanish prospectors. After this discovery, the mineral potential was confirmed and the exploitation begun. Soon the foundations of the town were set. The town was located at the top of a mountain within close proximity to the mines main access. This was done in order to have the workers and other mining staff closest as possible to the operation. The town developed rapidly from a small settlement to a village with all the urban services of that age. This included a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, Catholic church, several warehouses, general stores and saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
.
At the end of the 19th century the property was acquired by the Peñoles
Peñoles
Peñoles , based in Mexico City, Mexico, is a subsidiary company 100 percent Mexican and owned by the private Grupo Bal. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active...
Mining Company. This was one of the first mining operations of this company. At the beginning of the 20th century there were problems with the mining exploitation due to the conflicts and struggles originated by the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
and with the additional problem of the water presence inside the mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. At the end of the revolution the operation continued but soon the mineral reserves were exhausted and the company decided to lease it to a local miners co-operative, therefore the town was gradually abandoned. Now there is no mining activity. However, there are a few fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
, rock and stone sellers and some tour guides.
Currently the main buildings and other structures are in ruins. It is possible to visit this location and recognize the old church, the foundations of the miners houses, the warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s, other mining facilities and to have a guided tour down the access of the former mine. The only surviving and functional structure is a suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
. The bridge is known as "Puente de Ojuela" (Ojuela Bridge) by the locals. The original bridge was designed by the famous Roebling brothers, who also designed the Brooklyn Bridge. At the time of construction, the Puente de Ojuela was the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It was rebuilt recently by the Peñoles
Peñoles
Peñoles , based in Mexico City, Mexico, is a subsidiary company 100 percent Mexican and owned by the private Grupo Bal. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active...
Company, the original was scrapped and only the main arches are now displayed at the Torreón
Torreón
Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,...
Exposition Center.
Minerals from Ojuela
The mine is known among mineral collectorsMineral collecting
Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties.-Motivations:...
for its arsenate mineral
Arsenate mineral
Arsenate minerals usually refer to the naturally occurring orthoarsenates, possessing the 3- anion group and, more rarely, other arsenates with anions like AsO32- or [AsO22]- . Arsenite minerals are much less common...
s. Ojuela adamite
Adamite
Adamite is a zinc arsenate hydroxide mineral, Zn2AsO4OH. It is a mineral that typically occurs in the oxidized or weathered zone above zinc ore occurrences. Pure adamite is colorless, but usually it possess yellow color due to Fe compounds admixture. Tints of green also occur and are connected with...
and legrandite
Legrandite
Legrandite is a rare zinc arsenate mineral, Zn2·.It is an uncommon secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of zincn–arsenic bearing deposits and occurs rarely in granite pegmatite. Associated minerals include: adamite, paradamite, kottigite, scorodite, smithsonite, leiteite, renierite,...
have set the standard for these species. The 117 species now known from the deposit include adamite (in an array of colors and habits), legrandite, kottigite/parasymplesite, and paradamite, as well as specimens of scorodite
Scorodite
Scorodite is a common hydrated iron arsenate mineral, with the chemical formula FeAsO4·2H2O. It is found in hydrothermal deposits and as a secondary mineral in gossans worldwide. Scorodite weathers to limonite....
, hemimorphite
Hemimorphite
Hemimorphite, is a sorosilicate mineral which has been mined from days of old from the upper parts of zinc and lead ores, chiefly associated with smithsonite. It was often assumed to be the same mineral and both were classed under the same name of calamine...
, plattnerite
Plattnerite
Plattnerite is an oxide mineral and is the beta crystalline form of lead dioxide , scrutinyite being the other, alpha form. It was first reported in 1845 and named after German mineralogist Karl Friedrich Plattner...
, aurichalcite
Aurichalcite
Aurichalcite is a carbonate mineral, usually found as a secondary mineral in copper and zinc deposits. Its chemical formula is 526...
, rosasite
Rosasite
Rosasite is a carbonate mineral with minor potential for use as a zinc and copper ore. Chemically, it is a copper zinc carbonate hydroxide with a copper to zinc ratio of 3:2, occurring in the secondary oxidation zone of copper-zinc deposits. It was originally discovered in 1908 in the Rosas mine in...
, fluorite
Fluorite
Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...
, calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, wulfenite
Wulfenite
Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula PbMoO4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form it is sometimes called "yellow lead ore".It crystallizes...
and other species. It is also the type locality for paradamite, lotharmeyerite, metakottigite, mapimite and ojuelaite, and the co-type locality for scrutinvite.