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LOCAL Wednesday 11 november 2020

Experience Aruba deep under

SAN NICOLAS — Explore one of
Aruba’s most precious hidden
gems, the Phosphate Mine hosted
by The Shack Aruba. The tour will
be presented by Mario Perez who
has and is still exploring this Mine
for more than 20 years now. After
the introduction you will take a
ladder down approximately 30ft
deep and start exploring.

Date: Sunday, November 15th, (APC) was founded. The company
2020 very quickly realized that shipping
Time: 8:30 AM the ore by donkey to San Nicolas
Duration: 1 hour harbor and then by lighter to the
Meeting Point: Entrance Mine at larger ships would be a problem,
Seroe Colorado. and as a result it was decided in
1880 to build a modern L-shaped much that in 1882 a more powerful cutting off supplies and disrupting
Bring your own flashlight and refill steel pier at San Nicolas, linked to 0-4-2T, capable of hauling 30 cars, shipping, the company made the
bottle. Sportive clothing and shoes the mines by a 30 inch, 762mm, was ordered from H.K. Porter. Work- decision to shut down. The mines
are required. Rules and regula- gauged railway. A steam tug was ers were able to load up to 300 were closed and the locomotives
tions according to the department also ordered to assist steam ships tons per day, which was the aver- abandoned on a siding a Seroe
of health will be strictly followed. to dock. By the end of 1881 the 7 age capacity of the three-masted Culebra. In 1915, a representative
Maintain social distance at all km railway serving the mines at Se- ships in the West Indian phosphate for Shell Oil signed a deal to buy
times. Reservations are required. roe Colorado and Seroe Culebra, trade. Aside from 91 tipping cars, the rails and tipping cars for use at
Call or whats app at +297-597-4267 with one small English-built steam the APC also owned a one-axle in- the Shell Oil refinery construction
for more information locomotive, was completed. By spection coach lettered ‘A’. site in Curaçao. Only some rails re-
the end of 1881 a second loco of mained on the pier and in the har-
About the Phosphate Mine the same type was ordered, each However, due to large discoveries bor area at San Nicolas. In the mid-
Phosphate was discovered at Se- could haul 10-12 loaded tipping of phosphate in the U.S. and else- 1930s the locos were pushed into
roe Colorado, at the southeast- cars downhill to the pier, where the where for fertilizer, by the mid-1880s the mine pit at Seroe Culebra and
ern tip of the island, in 1874, and ore was unloaded directly into the demand started to decline. Follow- covered with trash by crews of the
in 1879 the Aruba Phosphate Co. waiting ships. Business boomed so ing the outbreak of WWI in 1914, Lago refinery.q