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Mining · Villa Clara

Descanso Gold Mine

Gold-silver vein mine (closed)

🔴 Stateℹ️ Atlas — info only
Scale
Low-sulfide gold-quartz veins in ophiolitic peridotite, worked to >100 m depth
Status
Was Cuba's only operating underground mine until it shut around 2018; the concession was formally terminated by the Council of Ministers in December 2019 over safety risks, operating costs and slow extraction. Clandestine artisanal mining continues on the Descanso-Melonera system.
Sector
Mining
Province
Villa Clara
Coordinates
22.632, -79.748
Layer
Layer 2 · Atlas
Notes
Operated by Empresa Geominera del Centro before the concession was revoked. A 1992 in-situ resource estimate in MRDS is inconsistent with its own 'small deposit' classification and is not reproduced here. Coordinates district-level (±10 km).
Sources: USGS MRDS · Cubadebate