LA BAIE DE CROVANI +Added to my favoriteItem already present

Presentation

If you take the departmental road 81 B and continue towards Galeria / Porto, you will come to the Argentella site, approximately 16 km further on. You should allow around ½ hour by car.

Crovani Bay, more commonly known as Argentella Beach

Once there, on your right below, you can access a beach of tiny pebbles. Take the La Morsetta campsite or the Hotel Marina d´Argentella as a landmark, these 2 establishments have direct access to the beach. It is an ideal place for families as well as for a romantic getaway. The place, although quite busy in summer, remains wild and intimate.

The Silver Mines

This former open-pit mining site through galleries owes its name to the silver lead (argentu in Corsica) which was extracted from it. Copper (chalcopyrite) was also produced there; on the site, there was a factory for the preparation of mineral products in operation from 1856 to 1930. You can walk on the path that goes to the right of the road to see the ruins of the factory and admire the view of the Bay of Crovani; however, it is not recommended to go to the entrance to the mine.

A little history ...

Although a document dating from 1572 already attests to mining activity on the site, it was not until the second part of the 19th century that a desire for development was realized: a concession covering an area of ​​2520 hectares was established on January 9, 1856 in the name of the Moullet company. The concession was extended on April 14, 1874. But the major works were carried out from 1872 and the following years, after the transfer of the concession to C. Collas. A dam is erected, new mining sites uncovered (the Valle Calde copper deposit), buildings and the port Julia (Crovani bay) are constructed.
Yields did not appear to be very good, and by 1876 the plant had been operating intermittently. The mine was bought in 1886 by English investors who founded Argentella Mining Limited: more than 200 people worked there before it was abandoned again in 1888.
In 1891 the Argentella Mining Company gave new impetus, but work ceased when the site became the property of Arthur C. Southwell, British vice-consul in Bastia. This one sells the equipment of the factory in 1898. The site is the subject of attempts of exploitation in the years 1910, then 1920. Work is carried out from 1928 to 1930 by the Company of mining of Corsica .