県東部を南北に連なる北上山地の東端、三陸沿岸の山間に位置し、易学者 高島嘉右衛門による江戸末期 安政年間の発見が伝えられます。 大正中期に八戸の井口徳治、東京の坂本組が小規模に鉄鉱の採掘を営みました。 1919 年（大正 8 年）にラサ島燐砿（後のラサ工業）が鉱区を買収して探鉱に着手しますが、相次ぐ恐慌の煽りを受けて休止と再開を繰り返すこととなります。 その後、1934 年（昭和 9 年）に金堀澤に含銅硫化鉄鉱床が確認されると、選鉱場などの整備が進められ、2 年後に操業が開始されました。 生産された精鉱は宮古港で船積みされ、東京や大阪の他、朝鮮半島に向けて出荷されました。 さらに、ラサ工業は 1939 年（昭和 14 年）に宮古製錬所を開設し、粗銅や燐酸肥料の生産に乗り出しました。 太平洋戦争の末期、1945 年（昭和 20 年）に国策会社 戦線鉱業の仁科鉱山に設備を転用するため、選鉱場は軍需省令を受けて閉鎖と解体を余儀なくされますが、翌年に施設を再建して操業が再開されました。 周辺では従業員と家族を含む 4,000 人以上が生活を営み、学校や診療所を備えた町が築かれて賑わいを見せました。 こうした中、1961 年（昭和 36 年）の三陸大火によって全ての坑外施設が焼失しますが、同年に選鉱場、翌年に全施設を復旧して生産が再開され、粗鉱量は年間 20 万 t を超えて推移しました。 1966 年（昭和 41 年）の粗鉱量は 267,209 t に上り、従業員数は 792 名を数えますが、鉱石の品位低下と輸入自由化の影響を受けて後に閉山を迎えました。 閉山までの総生産量は精鉱 144 万 t に上り、坑道の総延長は 104 km、深さは 400 m に達しました。 周辺には巨大な選鉱場跡が今も残ります。
1971 年閉山
The mine was located on the eastern edge of the Kitakami Mountains, running north and south in the eastern part of the prefecture, and is surrounded by mountains near the Sanriku Coast. According to lore, the discovery was made by Kaemon Takashima, a diviner, in the 1850s. Then Tokuji Iguchi from the former Hachinohe Town and Sakamoto Gumi in Tokyo produced iron ore on a small scale in the early 20th century. In 1919, Rasa Island Phosphate Ore, Ltd., later Rasa Industries, Ltd., acquired the mining rights and began mineral exploration. However, the exploration was repeatedly paused from the effects of the financial crisis and depression in the 1920s. The company discovered cupriferous pyrite deposits at Kanahorizawa in 1933. Two years later the company completed the construction of related facilities including a beneficiation plant and commenced operations. Concentrates were transported to Miyako Port and were shipped out to Tokyo, Osaka, and the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, the Miyako Smelter was constructed in 1939 and began operations such as manufacturing of crude copper and phosphate fertilizer. Toward the end of the Pacific War, the mine was shut down, and facilities were dismantled by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Munitions in 1945. Consequently, its materials and equipment were repurposed at Nishina Mine of Sensen Mining Co., Ltd., which was established under national policy. However, a beneficiation plant was reconstructed and began operations in the following year. The mining town built in the vicinity was equipped with schools and a clinic. The population of the town, comprising employees and their families, reached over 4,000 at its peak. Although the conflagration of the Sanriku region in 1961 destroyed almost all ground facilities, a new beneficiation plant was constructed in the same year. The following year, all the others were rebuilt, and operations resumed. After that, the mine stably produced over 200,000 tonnes of crude ore per year. In 1966, the mine employed 792 people and produced 267,209 tonnes of crude ore. The mine produced approximately 1.44 million tonnes of concentrates until its closure, and underground workings reached a total length of 104 kilometers with a maximum depth of 400 meters. Afterwards, the mine was closed owing to a decrease in ore quality and the effects of trade liberalization. The remains of the beneficiation plant can still be seen today.
closure in 1971
岩手県宮古市田老鈴子沢
銅、硫化鉄、鉛、亜鉛、金、銀
Suzukosawa, Taro, Miyako City, Iwate
copper, pyrite, lead, zinc, gold, silver
生産された精鉱は索道を用いて鍬ヶ崎貯鉱舎まで運ばれ、隣接する宮古港から各地へ出荷されました。 後に閉伊川を挟んだ対岸に宮古製錬所が開設され、売鉱から自社製錬に転じました。 1945 年（昭和 20 年）に製錬所は空襲を受けて製錬操業を休止しますが、戦後に三井金属鉱業の委託製錬を受けて設備を再編し、1959 年（昭和 34 年）から粗銅を生産して竹原製煉所へ送りました。 工場では硫酸や硫黄が副産され、煙灰から鉛やカドミウムなどの有価金属が回収されました。 ラサ工業による田老鉱山、宮古製錬所の操業は宮古の産業に多大な発展をもたらし、製錬所にそびえる高さ 160 m の巨大な煙突は宮古の象徴とされました。
The concentrates were transported to Kuwagasaki ore storage facility by aerial tramway and were shipped from Miyako Port. Later, the Miyako Smelter was built on the opposite side of the Hei River for independent production of crude copper. In 1945, air raids caused suspension of the smelting operations. In the postwar period, the smelter reorganized its equipment and resumed operations under a contract from Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd. in 1959, sending crude copper to the Takehara Refinery. The smelter produced sulfuric acid and sulfur as by-products, recovering valuable metals, such as lead and cadmium, from smoke and ash. Taro Mine and the Miyako Smelter greatly contributed to the industrial development of Miyako, and a chimney towering 160 meters above the smelter became a symbol of the city.
Photographs of
Abandoned Taro Mine
鉱床は東西 4 km、南北 16 km の範囲に分布し、金堀澤の本坑をはじめ、大館、壁ノ澤、加倉、畑など、その数は十数条に上りました。
There were more than 10 ore deposits in total in the mine area, such as Kanahorizawa-Honko, Odate, Kabenosawa, Kakura, and Hata. They were scattered over an area of four kilometers from east to west and 16 kilometers from north to south.
鉱山は全長 13.5 km に及ぶ索道によって宮古港に接続され、往路には鉱石、復路には港で獲れた新鮮な魚などが運搬されました。
The aerial tramway with a length of 13.5 kilometers connected the mine to Miyako Port and transported fresh fish and others back from Miyako.
選鉱場の周辺には鉱員住宅をはじめ、診療所や小中学校、講堂、購買所、郵便局、寺社などが設けられ、一部の施設跡は現在も残ります。
The mining town was equipped with welfare facilities, such as miners' row houses, a clinic, elementary and junior high schools, a lecture hall, a company store, a post office, a temple, and a shrine. The remains of some facilities still stand in the mountains.
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