The remains of the Argentella silver mine are situated on the Bay of Crovani on the west coast of Corsica, within the district of Calinzana. The place is situated 13 km south-west of Calvi ~ 25 km of the narrow panoramic road. Argentella is named for its mineral resource. The mine was a source of Argentiferous Galena - silver bearing lead. Silver (argentum, Ag) and lead are generally found together both in nature. The usual ore is galena (PbS) which is normally found with Ag2S (argentite) impurities. The silver mine was open in the nineteenth century until the beginning of the 20th century. The visible remains are a high brick ventilation shaft and some buildings. The brook which has an outflow on the very south side of the 1250 m long beach was damed up 800 m from the outflow with the 80 m wide dam. Behind the dam is 200 m long and 100 wide lake.
France planed the centre of nuclear experiments on the Argentella site in 1960. In that time French president Charles de Gaulle had proposed using Argentella for French nuclear tests when the Sahara became internationally frowned on. Corsicans protested and with the additional public pressure the plan about nuclear testing dropped. |
