History of the Mine

The Monte Sceré area has a subsoil rich in minerals. It is assumed that various metals were extracted there in past centuries, in particular iron, lead, silver and gold. The first earliest documented  gold mining attempt  date back to 1785. On the banks of the Lisora river, neatly stacked piles of well-worn bowls can be found,  representing the remains of gold mining activity dating from the Roman period (Aurifodine).
Until  2015, the entrance to the Costa di Sessa mine was abandoned, and inaccessible,  hiding an underground maze with over two kilometres of tunnels dug the miners on five different levels.
Thanks to the richness of its subsoil, Malcantone was listed in the national inventory as ‘one of Switzerland’s largest mining districts.

There have been two important phases in the exploitation and cultivation of minerals:

– in the 19th century, under the direction of engineer Vinasco Baglioni, mainly using laborious manual techniques, the first tunnels were dug in the area of Mount Sceré and the first processing plant was established in the area of Molinazzo di Monteggio, which is still known as the Smelter.

– In the 20th century, the “MInes de Costano SA” company (1933) started industrial processing by expanding the various existing tunnels and building the mineral processing plant in the Lolina locality.

During the Second World War, work was suspended because the mineral concentrate obtained could no longer be sent to Belgium for final treatment. Despite the resumption of mining at the end of the war, the work had a limited duration and in 1952, operations were suspended.

Until 2015, the Costa di Sessa mine was abandoned to neglect and oblivion. Hidden in the bush, the entrance had become inaccessible, although in an underground labyrinth, miners had excavated more than two kilometres of galleries on five levels over the course of a century.