Sulfur Mines at Paliorema in Milos

The Sulfur Mines of Milos Greece, Cyclades: The islands of Milos, Polyaigis and Kimolos are basically volcanic islands and not very old in geological terms. They are known to have formed over the last one or two million years. The hot water thermals in this area have resulted in the formation of many important minerals like Perlite, Kaolin, Bentonite, and Baryte. One can take a tour visiting mines abandoned long ago and other interesting archeological sites. This is a slightly different perspective of the island of Milos as compared to its beaches and villages. On the east coast, one finds a little beach called Paleorema.

This beach has clear emerald water but yellow pebbles. The yellow pebbles are indicative of old sulfur mines and abandoned factory installations that were in working order until as early as 1956. One gets an idea of how this entire unit worked by the still almost intact machinery like wagons on the tracks, spare parts in storerooms, tunnels and the various excavations that had been done. There were even some furniture, personal effects like shoes etc that one can see left behind by the miners who probably lived there.

Not much is known about the history of the sulfur mines but one gets the impression that it may have been quite a brisk operation in those times. Unfortunately, this was not protected and now the mines show the wear and tear of time and weather. The beach is quite attractive and does, in fact, see a lot of tourists who are keen to explore this aspect of Milos history.