The Documentation Service and cultural activities have the primary objective of conserving and publicising the historical-cultural heritage of the Almadén Mines, and achieving the necessary means so that this heritage can become known, studied, visited and used by as many people as possible, thereby promoting the social economy of Almadén and its region through tourism.
It is located in the Royal Hospital for Miners of San Rafael, an 18th century building housing inside itself the Museum of Mining and the Historical Archive of the Almadén Mines.
The Miners' Hospital was founded in 1752 by the superintendent Francisco Javier de Villegas. It was one of the first hospitals in Spain to have professional staff and it can be considered as an achievement of the ideals upheld by the health movement of the 18th century.
It was designated an asset of cultural interest in 1992. The refurbishment work was completed in 2003 and co-financed by funds from the ERDF and Fundación Caja Madrid.
The miners’ museum shows visitors two aspects of a miner's life: One room is dedicated to their health, with particular emphasis on the typical disease
hydrargyrosis and the other explains how the miners lived and worked, their family, their way of life, their hobbies and forms of entertainment, etc.
In the Royal Hospital San Rafael miners is open to the public and is visited individually or together with the other facilities of Almaden Mining Park (Information for the Visitors).
The Historical Almadén Mines Archive preserved a rich documentary documentary collection, which gives detailed history of the mine and reveals testimony and interpret historical events of importance. All of these documentation collections date from the 18th century to our time.