Our Lady of the Slag

An acre of broken jars convinced an American prospector he had found a fortune.

Local name: Παναγία Σκουριώτισσα

Collection: Troodos and Foothills · Cyprus · Open in OpenStreetMap

Open pit of the Skouriotissa mine · MeanStreets, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

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How the story begins

"I never gamble." That was the whole of J. P. Morgan's reply when American mine owners asked him to back their venture at the Skouriotissa mine, a walk from this village. They admitted it was a gamble. It rested on Charles Gunther, a prospector whose searches in the New World had failed. In the public library in Brooklyn he read an old book about ancient copper mines in the Sinai, and turned to the Old World.

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Visiting

Katydata, Solea valley, Nicosia district, about 56 kilometres from Nicosia by the B9. Stand in the village, by the Community Council on the Nicosia to Evrychou road. Skouriotissa is an industrial mine site, not open for casual visits. Output stopped around 2019 to 2020, and copper exports were reported to have resumed in 2025. It opens only at occasional organised events, such as a booked walk from Katydata in January 2025. It lies close to the UN buffer zone. We could not confirm that the church can be reached. The Museum of Mining Heritage in Katydata is listed as needing an appointment a day ahead: telephone first, 00357 22923250.