Valtellina, Italy

Valtellina, in the Italian Alps near Sondrio, gave amphibole asbestos: the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook published in 1934 says simply that "amphibole asbestos is produced at Valtellina."² In 1931 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, described mines "located in the Retiche Alps, about 15 kilometers" from the city of Sondrio, at about 2000 to 2500 meters above sea level, and called them "very rich in asbestos and quite actively operated."¹ The journal added that "for the last few years the material has been transported to the valley by means of aerial cableway."¹ In 1938 it reported that Asbestos Quarries Limited of London "now owns and controls some of these mines in the Aosta Valley and the Valmalenco districts."³

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.²

Location

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1931

• Worked: “Mines in the Retiche Alps about 15 km from Sondrio, very rich in asbestos and quite actively operated; aerial cableway to the valley”, p. 6¹
• Description: “Material transported to the valley by aerial cableway for the last few years”, p. 6¹

1932

• Worked: “Amphibole asbestos is produced at Valtellina”, p. 8²

1938

• Ownership: “Asbestos Quarries Limited of London now owns and controls some of the mines in the Valmalenco district” (Asbestos Quarries Limited), p. 12³

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1931, August 1931 (August 1, 1931), p. 6.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1932–33 (January 1, 1934), p. 8.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1938, June 1938 (June 1, 1938), p. 12.