(Translated and adapted from Gaceta de Madrid)

We have had access to the the exposé presented by the Minister of the Interior, Sr. Albareda, and published in the Gaceta de Madrid on 1 March 1888, is a document of unusual gravity and measured foresight. It addresses the much-discussed question of open-air calcinations in the province of Huelva—an issue long debated in both local and national circles—and does so in a tone both firm in purpose and conscious of the broader industrial realities upon which the modern wealth of Spain now rests.

Sr. Albareda rightly acknowledges the immense benefits which the mining industry has brought to Huelva. He speaks candidly of the “enormous capital invested” and the way in which mining has transformed the region: opening railway lines, founding thriving towns, creating thousands of jobs, and turning remote districts into centres of economic vigour. These are not hypothetical gains—they are visible to any who travel through the province.

For your information we publish our translation of the Royal Decree:

Real Decreto, Gaceta de Madrid, No. 61, 1 March 1888

In the name of my august son, His Majesty King Alfonso XIII (may God protect him), and as Queen Regent of the Kingdom,
in accordance with the considerations presented to me by the Minister of the Interior, and in agreement with the opinion of the Royal Council of Public Health,

I hereby decree the following:

Article 1.
The open-air calcination of sulphurous minerals is hereby prohibited.

Article 2.
All mineral processing facilities that currently employ open-air calcination must adopt an alternative procedure within the timeframes and under the conditions set out in this Royal Decree, ensuring that their emissions are neutralised in such a way as to prevent harm to agriculture and public health.

Article 3.
Said facilities must reduce the quantity of ore subjected to open-air calcination, based on official statistics, as follows:

• From 1 January 1889, by one quarter;
• From 1 January 1890, by one half;
• From 1 January 1891, open-air calcination of sulphurous minerals will no longer be permitted under this decree.

Article 4.
The Government shall present to the Cortes (Parliament) a draft law granting tariff and tax advantages to the aforementioned facilities as compensation for the loss resulting from the prohibition of the currently employed method of processing copper-bearing pyritic ores.

Article 5.
The Government shall appoint a delegate from the Corps of Mining Engineers who, under the direction of the Civil Governor of the province of Huelva, shall supervise metallurgical operations to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Royal Decree.

Issued at the Royal Palace on 29 February 1888.

MARÍA CRISTINA
The Minister of the Interior,
José Luis Albareda