Champdepraz Herin Mine

Herin Mine

In the locality of Hérin (pron. Erèn) you can see the remains of the mine by chalcopyrite exploited since the Eighteenth century to derive the copper and also lapsed as a result of the management dispute between the Challant family and the Perrone family

The chalcopyrite deposit was already exploited in ancient times; documents from the early 1700s attest to the beginning of mining.
Various disputes between the Challant and Perrone families, and the wrong choice in mining techniques, heavily affected the mine’s productivity for almost two centuries.
Only at the beginning of the 20th century, ownership problems having been resolved and after a plant closure, did mining begin with a more industrial dynamic, with the construction of a building to house the miners, a machine shop, machinery for pumping compressed air, and the construction of a cableway to transport the ore to the Fabbrica locality.
During World War II, a partisan attack on the cableway led to the cessation of mining, which finally ended in 1957 as it was no longer profitable.