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The Arenas-Tiny deposit, mainly open-pit, was one of the largest in Sardinia, together with the Cungiaus deposit near Monteponi. The Arenas Mine, with the Genna Carru Washery facilities located in the municipality of Fluminimaggiore, and the Tiny Mine, between the municipalities of Fluminimaggiore and Iglesias, occupy a strategic position along three main valleys: Bau Porcus, Rio di Antas and Rio di San Giovanni.

The mine was destined to extract lead minerals, located at the contact between the granites of Monte Linas and the metal-bearing schists and limestones of Sulcis. The material was transported to the facilities located on the Genna Carru saddle, which included the washery, the power plant, chemical laboratories, workshops, storage rooms, showers and other secondary structures. Adjacent to the facilities were the settling basins for the sludge produced during the concentration processes.

The processing began with the crushing of the raw material using mechanical sieves, followed by screening and grinding in ball mills. The result was then transferred to the flotation cells, where, through the use of oils and chemicals, the part richest in metal was separated from the residue. The complex also included the Lheraud shaft, dedicated to the general manager of Pertusola in the 1940s, which guaranteed access to the underground mine, together with the Pinna Perda descent, used in the final years of activity. To complete the process, the mining village, now largely restored, arose along the road to Domusnovas, which housed workers' homes, offices, roads and a church dedicated to Santa Barbara.

The systematic exploitation of the mine began in 1877, when the Englishman George Henfrey, representative of the company of the same name, obtained the mining concession of Genna Carru, followed in 1883 by that of Su Pitzianti. However, in 1891, due to economic difficulties, the concessions passed to the Pertusola company, acquired in 1899 by Lord Thomas Allnutt Brassey.

The Arenas mines were later connected to those of Malacalzetta by a narrow-gauge railway for the transport of minerals to the washery. In 1927, the concession was revoked by the Iglesias Mining Corps due to Pertusola's disinterest. In the 1930s, thanks to new geological studies, the importance of the deposit was highlighted, leading to the reconstruction of the railway and the construction of the Genna Carru washery in 1942-1943.

After the Second World War, activity resumed regularly, especially with open-cast excavation, which profoundly changed the landscape, creating the large crater visible today. Following an agreement between Pertusola and Monteponi-Montevecchio, the Arenas and Tiny mines were merged, forming a single production facility that employed around 120 miners and around twenty office workers.

In the 1960s, a phase of decline began, with the mine passing from Pertusola to Piombo Zincifera Sarda, without however reversing the negative trend. The definitive closure of the plants occurred in the early 1980s.