Bushiribana and Balashi

Bushiribana and Balashi are the sites of two former gold smelters on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

Bushiribana gold mine

Bushiribana

The Aruba Island Gold Mining Company built the Bushiribana smelter in 1825 to extract gold from the ore that was being mined in the nearby hills of Ceru Plat; it operated for ten years. Today, its remains are a stopping-off point for tourists on their way to view the Aruba Natural Bridge, which collapsed on 2 September 2005.^[1][2]

Balashi

Balashi gold mine

In 1899, the Aruba Gold Concessions Company built a gold smelter at Balashi, at the southern end of Frenchman's Pass.^[3] In 1916 during the First World War, it closed for lack of raw materials and spare parts, as most of them came from Germany.^[4]

In 1933, a sea water desalination plant was constructed at Balashi.^[5]

References

1. Account of a visit to the Natural Bridge before the collapse
2. "Coral bridge, natural Aruba tourist spot, collapses". USA Today. Associated Press. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
3. "Historische Goudmijnen". Aruba (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 April 2021.
4. "Island Insight Episode XXVIII: Yes! Aruba had its own gold rush". Aruba Today. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
5. "Water Tower San Nicolas 1939". Monumenten Fonds Aruba. Retrieved 19 February 2022.