The washery of the Nebida mine is one of the most impressive examples of mining archaeology in Sardinia: its architectural majesty is enhanced by the sequence of arches harking back to ancient Roman constructions. Just a few metres from one of the most fascinating stretches of coast of the south-western part of the island, with a splendid view over the rocky islet of Pan di zucchero, it offers a significant example of the construction and technical skills of the mining engineers who worked in Sardinia in the 19th century.
The washery, remember, was an important cog in the ore production process. The ore extracted, from the mine was concentrated by a hydrogravimetric process to obtain marketable mineral which was then dispatched to the foundries for transformation into metal. The Nebida washery expressed to the full the high technical quality achieved by the island's ore processing plants thanks to the importation of foreign know-how and machinery (in the case in point, Belgian). When it was opened in 1897, it was one of the largest as to processing capacity and certainly the most modern in terms of machinery.
The plant was built by the Societe Anonyme de la Mine de Nebida, at that time managed by Belgian engineer Alfonso Werzee (but the principal consultant for the plant was a Sardinian, engineer Giorgio Asproni). Today it can be visited starting from the village and following a splendid panoramic pathway at one time used for transporting the ore.
