This research is a contribution to the sustainable assessment of industrial heritage. The study analyzes the sustainability of some industrial elements after the cessation of activity as well as their tourist definition. The research includes a bibliographic review, a study of different sustainability thematic groups, and establishes certain analysis criteria in each group, adjusted to the characteristics of each selected case study. The results obtained permit a qualitative assessment of industrial heritage in terms of sustainability and its interpretation as a tourist resource in an increasingly diversified cultural offer. Special emphasis is placed on territory, landscape, environment, architecture, and tourism-related issues as the main interpretative keys that provide a new perspective on industrial heritage through an easy-to-apply analysis that contrasts operationally with other heritage environments.

The Riotinto and Almadén mining areas in Spain are two of the best examples of European experiences in restoring the heritage of traditional mining activities. Initially promoted by public administrations, particularly municipal bodies, with the active participation of private companies and the local community, these projects are an international reference in the protection and preservation of the mining-industrial heritage and the tourist use of buildings, machines and landscapes.

This research represents a novel contribution regarding the application of digital technology to the management and cultural promotion of industrial heritage. The study answers questions about the level of digital transformation of certain preselected buildings and areas of great historical and technical interest. It includes an extensive bibliographic review and analyzes different variables linked to webpages, which are the main source of information for visitors, and studies the level of digitization using a survey of the technical managers. The results are valuable because they offer an original profile of selected industrial heritage sites, characterized by an important connection between visitors, visited spaces, and available resources; the interaction of these three elements with the surrounding territory, fostering a new competitive capacity; the projection of each place in a modern and attractive way; and the commitment to an efficient and sustainable local management model. The results provide a fresh look at the technological changes embodied by new uses in old industrialization sites. In addition, the performed analysis could easily be applied and operationally compared in other different heritage environments.

This research makes a highly relevant contribution to the scientific analysis of the mining landscape using the example of Cartagena-La Unión (Spain). The landscape is interpreted from a twin perspective: as a type of digital content offered to visitors and as a highly valuable scenic tourism resource. The article features an extensive bibliographical review and offers different perspectives on the relationship between landscape, tourism, and smart promotion. The method used is both qualitative and quantitative due to the presentation of statistical data. It describes a purpose-designed form used for analyzing the landscape in question and a synthetic landscape assessment index, as a result of creating and using different indicators. Extensive field work and consultation with several sources provided information about the enclave, how much it appeals to visitors, and their level of satisfaction. The results achieved offer a new scientific vision of what a spectacular cultural landscape, and a point of reference for “mining heritage tourism”, can represent.

The closure of open-cast mines has prompted the appearance of large, run-down and environmentally degraded spaces. Current legislation requires that such spaces, which mining marked so heavily over such long periods of time, must be restored. The measures adopted have such a wide-ranging territorial impact that they represent the creation of new landscapes in line with strict environmental sustainability criteria. Reducing slopes and banks, securing and decontaminating soils, filling the large mining holes and planting native plant species and crops have been the main solutions applied in the old mining areas. The black colour of the mines has been replaced by a new green colour in line with the natural environment, in a relatively recent and constant process that some authors relate to the concept of regenerative development, different but linked to the more traditional sustainable development. The analysis conducted in this research focuses on several Spanish cases that are highly representative, both nationally and internationally, of what the changes undertaken after mines are abandoned entail

Las antiguas zonas mineras e industriales, muchas de ellas ya abandonadas tras una prolongada actividad extractiva y productiva, albergan frecuentemente buenas experiencias de recuperación del patrimonio asociado y sus paisajes. Impulsados inicialmente los proyectos desde las administraciones públicas, sobre todo de ámbito municipal, con participación activa de las empresas propietarias y la comunidad local, hoy son un extraordinario referente de puesta en valor de un legado muy peculiar que ofrece amplias posibilidades de reutilización bajo la perspectiva irrenunciable del desarrollo sostenible.