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、江戸末期 安政年間の易学者 高島嘉右衛門による発見と伝えられます。 大正中期に八戸の井口徳治、東京の坂本組が鉄鉱石を採掘し、釜石へと売鉱しました。 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を開始するものの、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、1933 年（昭和 8 年）に金堀澤本坑において含銅硫化鉄鉱床に着脈し、三年後に選鉱場を完成させて本格操業を開始しました。 生産された精鉱は宮古港で船積みされ、東京や大阪、日本統治下の朝鮮に向けて出荷されました。 さらに、1939 年（昭和 14 年）に銅製錬設備を備えた宮古工場を開設し、粗銅や燐酸肥料の生産を始めます。 太平洋戦争末期の 1945 年（昭和 20 年）には国策会社 戦線鉱業の仁科鉱山に設備を転用するため、軍需省令を受けて選鉱場の操業休止と施設解体を余儀なくされますが、翌年に再建を果たして操業を再開しました。 周辺では従業員とその家族を含む 4,000 人以上の人々が生活を営み、学校や診療所を備えた町が築かれて賑わいを見せます。 こうした中、1961 年（昭和 36 年）の三陸大火によって坑外施設のほぼ全てを焼失しますが、同年に選鉱場を新設し、翌年に全施設を完成させて再び操業を始めました。 その後は年間 20 万 t を上回る粗鉱生産量を維持し、1966 年（昭和 41 年）には 792 名の従業員を抱えて 267,209 t の粗鉱を生産します。 閉山に至るまでの間に生産された精鉱は合わせて 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。 後に鉱石の品位低下や輸入自由化の影響を受けて閉山を迎えます。 周辺には巨大な選鉱場跡が今も残ります。
1971 年閉山
The mine is 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 in former Hachinohe Town and Sakamoto Gumi Company in Tokyo mined iron ore and sold them to Kamaishi in the early 20th century. The Rasa Island Phosphate Ore, Ltd., later Rasa Industries, Ltd., acquired the mining areas in 1919 and began mineral exploration. However, the exploration repeatedly paused from the effects of successive depression in the 1920s. The company discovered cupriferous iron sulfide deposits at Kanahorizawa-Honko in 1933. Three years later, the company constructed a beneficiation plant and commenced full-scale operations. Refined ore was transported to Miyako Port and was shipped out to Tokyo, Osaka, and the then colonized Korea. Additionally, Miyako Smelter was built in Miyako 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 Sen-Sen Mining Co., Ltd., which was established under national policy. However, a beneficiation plant was reconstructed and began operations the following year. A mining town was built in the vicinity and 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 of the facilities, a beneficiation plant was newly constructed 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 held 792 employees and produced 267,209 tonnes of crude ore. The mine produced about 1.44 million tonnes of refined ore for 35 years from 1933, and mine tunnels reached a total length of 104 kilometers with a maximum depth of 400 meters. Afterwards, the mine closed owing to a decrease in ore quality and the effects of trade liberalization. The remains of the beneficiation plant can be seen even now.
closure in 1971
岩手県宮古市田老鈴子沢
硫化鉄、亜鉛、鉛、銅
Suzukosawa, Taro, Miyako City, Iwate
iron sulfide, zinc, lead, copper
田老で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銅製錬所を設けて売鉱から自社製錬に転じます。 1945 年（昭和 20 年）に宮古工場は空襲被害を受けて製錬操業を休止しますが、終戦後は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）に操業を再開して粗銅を竹原製煉所へ送りました。 工場では副産物として硫酸や硫黄などを製造し、煙灰からは鉛やカドミウムなどの有価金属を回収します。 ラサ工業による田老鉱山、宮古工場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 refined ore was transported to Kuwagasaki Ore Storage Facility by aerial cableway and was shipped from Miyako Port. Later, Miyako Smelter was built on the opposite side of the Hei River for independent production of crude copper. In 1945, air raids caused operational suspension of the smelter. After the war, the smelter reorganized its equipment and resumed operations on consignment from Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd. in 1959, sending crude copper to 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 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.
田老地区
Taro area
© 国土地理院
© 国土地理院
© Google
宮古地区
Miyako area
© 国土地理院
© 国土地理院
© 国土地理院
The Remains Photographed in
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す。
The mine had over 10 ore deposits, such as Kanahorizawa-Honko, Odate, Kabenosawa, Kakura, and Hata. They were scattered in 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 cableway 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 had welfare facilities, such as row houses for miners, a clinic, elementary and junior high schools, a lecture hall, a shop, a post office, a temple, and a shrine. The remains of some facilities still stand in the mountains.
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