Cable Francés

Cable Francés is a historic concrete loading pier for iron ore in Almería, Andalusia, reaching far out into the Mediterranean next to San Miguel beach. It stands in the shadow of its more famous neighbor, the Cable Inglés, but has its own story rooted in mining competition from the early 20th century.

Where is it located?

The structure sits within the port area of Almería, in the Muelle de Levante district, right next to San Miguel beach. It lies only about 650 meters from the Cable Inglés, the earlier and better-known mining pier, so both structures can easily be seen on the same walk along the seafront promenade. The site draws visitors interested in industrial heritage and photography, though the pier itself is currently fenced off and cannot be entered.

Why was it built, and where does the name come from?

The pier was built between 1914 and 1918 by the British mining company Baird's Mining, which extracted iron ore from deposits near Jerez del Marquesado and La Calahorra, in Granada province. Baird's Mining was competing at the time with another British firm working the same ore deposits, and the rivalry between the two companies blocked any shared use of the existing railway line running to the port. As a result, Baird's Mining had to build its own rail branch and its own separate loading point for shipping ore.

The name "Cable Francés" (French Cable) only appeared later, in 1929, when the British company's holdings were bought out by the Compañía Andaluza de Minas, a firm backed by French capital. From that point on, locals began referring to the pier informally as the "French" one, to distinguish it from the British-built Cable Inglés nearby.

What does it look like, and how did it work?

Unlike the steel-framed Cable Inglés, this pier was built from reinforced concrete. It extends roughly 313 meters out to sea and was constructed in stages: a first section of 123 meters and a second of 105 meters were both finished in 1918, with an additional 85-meter extension added in 1975. Its width ranges between 9 and 12 meters. Thanks to these dimensions, a ship could be loaded with several thousand tons of ore in just a few hours, making it one of the more significant ore-loading installations on the Almería coast.

Use of the pier peaked in the late 1980s, when trains regularly delivered iron ore to the port from mines around Alquife in the Granada region. Ore shipments along this route stopped in 1996, once mining activity in Granada wound down, and the Alquife mines closed entirely the following year.

What is happening to it now?

Since it stopped operating, the structure has gradually deteriorated and is now listed on the Red List (Lista Roja) maintained by the Spanish heritage organization Hispania Nostra, which tracks monuments at risk due to poor conservation. For safety reasons, the site is fenced off and cannot be accessed on foot. Almería has debated the pier's future for years: some proposals call for demolishing part of the structure to expand the marina, while others push to incorporate the pier into the city's seafront promenade as part of broader port-area redevelopment plans.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cable Francés? It is a former concrete pier used to load iron ore onto ships, built between 1914 and 1918 in the port of Almería.

Why is it called the "French" cable? Since 1929, the installation belonged to the Compañía Andaluza de Minas, backed by French capital, giving rise to the popular name that distinguishes it from the British-built Cable Inglés.

Can visitors walk out onto the pier? No — the site is fenced off due to its poor structural condition and is not currently open to the public.

How far is it from the Cable Inglés? The two piers are about 650 meters apart along the coast, so both can be visited during one walk along San Miguel beach.

When did the pier stop operating? The last iron ore shipments took place in 1996, after the mines around Alquife in Granada that supplied it were shut down.