Abstract
Domenico Vandelli (1735-1816), a Paduan naturalist hired by the Marquis of Pombal to teach Chemistry and Natural History at the renovated University of Coimbra, visited in 1773 the coal mining attempts that, under the patronage of the Crown, were being carried out in Cape Mondego. These works focused on the outcrops discovered years earlier on the coastal cliffs, in marly and lagoonal limestone strata from the Upper Jurassic Latter attributed to mid-Oxfordian), rich in plant remains of cycads.
Following the observations made in the deposit and in its calcareous framework, a monocline structure, in which the coal seams moderately sloped south towards the village of Buarcos, structurally conditioning the opening of galleries and mining, Vandelli should instruct the officers of the Sappers Corps of the Portuguese Army in charge to run the survey of the area and mine’s exploitation. His instructions, written in the form of a series of questions and answers, as was used in many scientific or instructive texts of the time, remained unpublished until today. Condensed into seven pages, they address a range of key topics for the future of the mine, such as drainage and ventilation, shafts and galleries opening, the machinery to be installed – namely the pioneer use of steam engines – and the way to export the extracted coal through. the port of Figueira da Foz do Mondego. This at a time when the demand for coal was growing, and the coal consumed in Portugal was, until then, imported from the United Kingdom, at great cost to the Treasury.
This communication, based on a handwritten copy of that document, contextualizes, and interprets Vandelli’s instructions to Lieutenants Galego Soromenho and Nunes Figueiredo, enabling them to conduct mining works, contributing to the mine’s viability and continuity, whose useful life lasted until to the 1960s.
Following the observations made in the deposit and in its calcareous framework, a monocline structure, in which the coal seams moderately sloped south towards the village of Buarcos, structurally conditioning the opening of galleries and mining, Vandelli should instruct the officers of the Sappers Corps of the Portuguese Army in charge to run the survey of the area and mine’s exploitation. His instructions, written in the form of a series of questions and answers, as was used in many scientific or instructive texts of the time, remained unpublished until today. Condensed into seven pages, they address a range of key topics for the future of the mine, such as drainage and ventilation, shafts and galleries opening, the machinery to be installed – namely the pioneer use of steam engines – and the way to export the extracted coal through. the port of Figueira da Foz do Mondego. This at a time when the demand for coal was growing, and the coal consumed in Portugal was, until then, imported from the United Kingdom, at great cost to the Treasury.
This communication, based on a handwritten copy of that document, contextualizes, and interprets Vandelli’s instructions to Lieutenants Galego Soromenho and Nunes Figueiredo, enabling them to conduct mining works, contributing to the mine’s viability and continuity, whose useful life lasted until to the 1960s.
Translated title of the contribution | Domenico Vandelli's instructions for mining Cape Mondego coal (Portugal, 1773) |
---|---|
Original language | Portuguese |
Pages | 27-28 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 30 Sept 2022 |
Event | XIX CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE PATRIMONIO GEOLÓGICO Y MINERO - Cuevas de Almanzora, Almeria, Spain Duration: 29 Sept 2022 → 2 Oct 2022 http://sedpgym.es |
Conference
Conference | XIX CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE PATRIMONIO GEOLÓGICO Y MINERO |
---|---|
Country/Territory | Spain |
City | Almeria |
Period | 29/09/22 → 2/10/22 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Domenico Vandelli
- Coal Mine
- Cape Mondego
- Portugal