S11: Marrancos (Vila Verde, PT)

Site “S-11”, Location: Vila Verde, Portugal. 41º40’15.4”N, 8º30’41.0W

Brief description:

Marrancos Mine

This old silver/gold mine is located in Marrancos, a small village close to Braga, northern Portugal. The mineralogy of the deposit is essentially composed by arsenopyrite, pyrite, bismuthinite, bismuth, pyrrotite, gold/electrum, and galena containing minor chalcopyrite and sphalerite. This mine was originally explored by the romans, and later re-prospected in the 1980s and 1990s. Our goal is to determine the feasibility of gold phytomining in the tailings of this mine through ex situ and in situ trials.