Iberdrola invests 1.84 million euros in Tresminas, adding value to its candidacy as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

As part of the construction of the large Tâmega Hydroelectric Complex, Iberdrola is promoting visits to the Tresminas Roman gold mining site, a project that is part of the compensation actions carried out by the electricity company.

Through the investment of 1.84 million euros in the Tresminas Mine Complex, Iberdrola is demonstrating its commitment to the economic, social, cultural and environmental development of the communities where it operates. The company is collaborating with Vila Pouca de Aguiar Town Council and the North Portugal Regional Department of Culture in the historical, archaeological and heritage enhancement of the region. The investment started in 2016 and is expected to continue until 2023.

This contribution complies with the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and aims to enhance the value and disseminate information on the former Tresminas mining area. The investment is applied in different essential development areas such as: safety, scientific research, conservation, land management and planning and the promotion of tourism.

In addition, the investment made by Iberdrola allows a series of actions to be carried out that benefit the Tresminas Mine Complex, making it possible for it to be declared an Archaeological Park in the future, which will safeguard the materials associated with Roman mining and the landscaping of the area.

The company has allocated, between 2016 and the end of 2018, some 850,000 euros that, throughout this year, will be translated into actions including: funding the technical team; on-going historical, geological and fauna and flora studies of Tresminas; acquiring equipment for visiting the mining cuts and galleries, their cleaning and/or unblocking; the construction of the support building and structures and equipment to permit driving in the mining cuts and galleries.

Tresminas and its nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

In Roman times, the Tresminas Mine Complex was one of the largest gold exploration sites in the conventus bracaraugustanus primary deposit and one of the largest in the north west of the Peninsula.

It is estimated that between the 1st and 3rd centuries A.D. about 25 tonnes of pure gold were mined in Tresminas, which involved the excavation of millions of tonnes of rock in open-cast cuttings.

Tresminas also forms part of the municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar's strategic pillars in terms of cultural tourism. The development of the municipality is based on the enhancement and spreading of information on this archaeological site and its heritage elements.

The efforts made over the last few months, both at the local and regional level following the enhancement of the heritage and tourism value of Tresminas, have resulted in an increase in the number of visitors to the region.

In addition, these results have been supported by activities in cross-border partnership with Las Médulas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 and one of the most important and well-known Roman mines, in the El Bierzo region in Spain. The candidacy is being nominated jointly, in a common cultural project, which aims to enhance the value of the Iberian Peninsula's Roman mining legacy. In 2017, this cooperation protocol between the Municiipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and the Las Médulas Foundation was supported by organisations such as– the Direção Regional de Cultura do Norte and the Castilla y León regional government's General Directorate of Cultural Heritage. This alliance aims to further strengthen the candidacy of this area of Portugal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is another example of Iberdrola's commitment to environmental conservation and the preservation of social welfare. The company is in this way consolidating its role as a world leader in the production of clean energy - a goal that was recently highlighted in Portugal with almost 70 hours of continuous electricity production solely from renewable energy sources.

Iberdrola in Portugal

Iberdrola is developing the large Tâmega Hydroelectric Complex in Portugal, which involves the construction of three dams: Alto Tamega, Daivoes and Gouvaes. In addition, it operates three wind farms, with a nominal capacity of 92 MW, which generate 200 GWh/year of electricity from renewable sources. The company also operates in the free energy market in Portugal, through the sale of electricity and it has more than 170,000 customers in this sector. Iberdrola is one of the national leaders in industrial customers, with a market share of over 16% and it currently has over 1,000 employees.

The Tâmega Hydroelectric Complex is one of the most important hydroelectric projects undertaken in Europe in the past 25 years. This system will have an installed capacity of 1,158 MW and an estimated annual production capacity of 1,760 GWh.

The work, which will continue until 2023, has already begun on the Tâmega River and it will involve an investment of over 1.5 billion euros. Iberdrola's objective is to contribute to growth and the development of the region around the project over the next few years. It is expected that during the construction of the developments around 40,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created.

In addition, when construction is finished, an operations and maintenance team will be created for the power plants, which will be staffed with local people. One of Iberdrola's top priorities in its projects is to form teams with employees in the areas where the projects are carried out.