Page 10 - AHATA

Saturday 26 auguSt 2023 locAl
A10

Episode XLI The Phosphate Industry of Aruba:

Aruba Phosphate Company in 1879

ORANJESTAD — It was so plus, but after 1880, when Maatschappij which was
that the Aruban phosphate the phosphate layers on the company`s name in
mines yielded a sum total Aruba began to be mined, Dutch, had to put into cir-
of over 9.000.000 guilders, the colony could do with- culation their own currency
a very considerable re- out subsidies for twelve on our rural island. Money
sult seeing that the original years consecutively, from had always been scarce
capital amounted to only 1882 to 1895. Phosphate here. The laborers who
112,000 guilders. About mining continued the most earned their living else-
4.000.000 guilders in ex- important source of income where used to send their
port-duties were obtained for the colony till the estab- wages in gold to Aruba.
by the government from lishment of the oil-industry, Before the coming of the
Aruba during the period. Aruba being the main con- Phosphaat Maatschappij
tributor. Our island was the there virtually was no Sint
When World War I broke milk-cow of the colony. Nicolaas; the few fisher-
out in 1914, the exploita- men’s cabins assembled
tion of phosphate became The procedure adopted in there could not yet pretend
very difficult. It was impos- winning the phosphate was to the name of village. But
sible to get dynamite and relatively simple. The miner- now this little assemblage
the means of exportation al occurred in thick layers, soon began to expand.
became worse as a result sometimes to a depth of The Cero Colorado Light-
of the war in Europe Three- about twenty feet, resting house was constructed
to five hundred tons of on the original rock-bases during this period. The only
phosphate per day could of the hills and partly cov- real houses at St. Nicolaas,
be handled by the pier. ered by younger limestone. however, were those built
In 1882, about 250 men The color of the phosphate for the Company.
worked in the phosphate varies from yellow to a red-
industry and the salaries dish brown or liverish hue; it Local labor was initially only
were not bad. is hard, but crisp. found with difficulty: that
Mining was started on the was because of the rival
At first mining was restrict- surface, in open quarries. branch of industry, the ex-
ed to Cero Colorado and To this end about three feet ploitation of gold. That's
Cero Culebra. After some deep holes were drilled by why forty men were at-
fifteen years the surface means of hand-drills, after tracted from Bonaire and
supplies on the hills had which the phosphate was about twenty bricklayers
been exhausted. Borings made loose with dynamite. and carpenters from Cu-
were made in the south- As the workers reached raçao. The workers stayed
east part of the island, and further down, they came near the phosphate mines
at a depth of from fifteen under the hollow rock and all week and slept in bar-
to eighteen meters deep soon worked under an racks. Even a group of Ital-
phosphate layers were dis- overhanging roof. A few ians was attracted to the
covered from which the pillars were left standing island to manage the com-
phosphate won during the to support this. These phos- pany; four of them never
next fifteen years was ob- phate pillars were later left the island: Antonio and
tained. taken away when the layer Victorio Petrocci, Eugenio
In those years Aruba virtu- had been exhausted and Falconi and Cajetano Ja-
ally bore the taxes of the it did not matter anymore copucci. They settled at tive. There it was loaded book your visit for our re-
whole colony, for the col- whether the roof caved in Tanki Leendert. into sail ships that took it nowned cultural encounter
ony so far had needed a here and there. This steal- to countries like England, session has been entertain-
subsidy. In 1873 thanks to ing of the pillars was a haz- For the transport of the France, Germany and the ing curious participants for
exploration on Klein Cura- ardous job and had to be phosphate to the harbor, United States to be pro- decades. Mail us at etni-
cao, there had been a sur- done very carefully. At the a six kilometer long narrow cessed to super phosphate anativa03@gmail.com to
same time as the work in gauge railway was built that was used as fertilizer. confirm your participation.
the quarries went on, min- and the phosphate was To get to know more about Our facilities and activities
ing was also started at a taken to the loading berth Aruba and its origins, its take place close to high
deeper level by construct- in trains of about twenty tip animals and culture, we rise hotels.q
ing a shaft and galler- carts and a steam locomo- highly recommend you to
ies leading from it. In this
manner a real mine was
made, with corridors and
high vaults where the phos-
phate had been removed.
But in the course of the
years, phosphate exploi-
tation became less profit-
able: as the phosphate
had to be extracted from
deeper underground, the
quality became poorer.
It was a very levelly indus-
try. The Aruba Phosphaat