Mina da Passagem

The primary gold deposits of Passagem were discovered in 1719 by those who travelled up the Ribeirão do Carmo panning for gold. The underground mine as it is seen today only began extracting gold in 1819, with the Sociedade Mineralógica da Passagem, created by the Barão de Eschwege. The Companhia Minas da Passagem operated regularly until 1954 and stood idle until 1960. Diving in the mine began in 1998, and in July 1999 the dive operation came to be run under a concession.

Underwater there are no fish or corals to be seen: the scenery is made of tunnels and flooded mining ruins, with rails, sleepers and tools. On the bottom of the lake and in the galleries lie mining artifacts, such as carts, pickaxes, latrines and dynamite boxes. The longest recorded penetration into the tunnels is about 2,000 m, and more than 10 km of guidelines are installed in the mine. Dive conditions tend to stay the same rain or shine, with the water at around 21 °C.