(North British Daily Mail—December 20, 1869)
The Rev. A. N. Somerville in his lecture on Spain on Thursday night referred as follows to this mining company:—Huelva promises to become ere long a town of consideration. Its noble harbour renders it a suitable road for shipping; but its distinguishing characteristic at present is the copper and sulphur mines in its vicinity. Its Tharsis, Calañas and San Telmo mines are very valuable. An enterprising association, whose shareholders are English and Scotch, but whose headquarters are in Glasgow, called the Tharsis Mining Co., has been formed within the last few years, Charles Tennant, Esq., of the Glen, being chairman. This company pays from 10,000l. to 15,000l. a month for wages and materials. It maintains 1,500 men at the works. These, with wives and children, make a population supported by the company of 5000 people, who are almost all Spaniards and Portuguese. A railway, 30 miles in length, between the mines and Huelva, has been completed at a cost (including rolling stock) of 200,000l. which has all been paid. It is expected that these mines will soon be exporting annually from 100,000 to 200,000 tons of mineral to Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bristol, and London. The mine at Tharsis is a great curiosity. It is believed to have been worked as far back as the days of King Solomon. It was in possession of the Romans for 500 years. This can be calculated even from the amount of scoriæ that remains. Ancient coins are found abundantly. Some coins have been picked up, thought to be Phœnician. Ships are going backward and forward almost weekly between Huelva and this country, conveying copper and sulphur to Britain, and iron and coal to Spain. Tharsis is considered one of the richest copper mines in the world, from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 tons of cupreous pyrites being understood, after all that has been evacuated, still to be left in the mine. Mr Somerville referred to the circumstances that the Tarshish of Scripture is now generally admitted to be the territory of Spain, more especially the southern portion of it. Tharsis is evidently a form of Tarshish. In one of the Psalms it is foretold that the kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall bring presents to the Messiah. It may with some propriety be said that these kings of Tarshish have a kind of representative in the shareholders of the Tharsis Mining Company, and that some of the kings of Tarshish may be regarded as living on the banks of the Clyde. On this the lecturer grounded an appeal for “gifts” from Glasgow to promote the Messiah’s kingdom in this Peninsula.
