Mineral Loading Bay (or Cable Inglés)
Almería

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The mineral loading bay, popularly known as the Cable Inglés (or English Cable), is situated on the Almadrabillas Beach, next to the Eastern wharf. It is a prolongation of the railway track to the sea and was constructed between 1902 and 1904 by the English mining company, The Alquife Mines Railway Company Limited, in order to cut the costs of transporting the mineral from the railway station to the port. The iron ore used to be extracted from a deposit in the village of Granadina de Alquife.

This loading bay, which is a magnificent example and masterpiece of iron architecture from the beginning of the 20th century, gives the city´s sea front its personality and in 1998 it was declared to be of “cultural interest”. The engineering work is comprised of two very different parts: the access system and the loading wharf as such.

Its structure is conceived for the system of mineral loading by gravity: the boats used to dock either side of the loading bay to unload the mineral by means of chutes in the holds of the ships.