Antonio Pereira Imperial Topaz Mine

Topaz is extracted by largely open-air workings in deeply weathered marble. The marble has largely turned to unstable clay and the topaz crystals remain. This was a truly Dickensian operation with lots of small boys and a few bosses, who each seem to have a small part of the field. The mine is located on the steep hillside below the Cave of Our Lady of Lapa, where it makes a prominent scar. The deeper and underground parts of the mine look quite dangerous. Poor quality stones are sold to tourists.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.