Mining question

And it's a n00blar one:

How, in the name of God's nipples do you build a mine?!?

With 75 turns remaining in my Spanish game, I'm building cannons, pikers etc. I've got quality stuff going on but there is no 'Mine' to build in any of my settlements, nor can I see a character that can build them - like generals can a fort or tower.

I've read the manual and it basically just say you can build mines if there are resources in the regain. I'm assuming Iron, coal and tin count as 'mineable'.

Looking at the tech tree, I don't see a pre-requisite building other than 'large town/castle' .

So....what am I missing?

Iron, coal, and tin aren't "mineable" as you put it. The only resources that can have mines built are gold and silver, and the mines simply cause the settlement to generate more money per turn. A merchant can still stand on the resource and trade it. There is no silver or gold anyplace in the Iberian Peninsula. You have to go south all the way to Timbuktu to get to gold, and the closest silver is east of you by quite a ways as well.

Hold your mouse over the resource in your region, and it will tell you whether it is able to be mined by the nearby settlement (I know gold & silver can be in general). If it can, the mining option should appear at the right tech level.

Thank you Quillan & HughTower!

Evidently I haven't taken settlements near gold or silver deposits yet - or I'm over looking them.

I do have merchants standing on various iron, tin and coal deposits which are very near to some of my settlements and had thought those would be "mine-able" but it seems they're evidently not.

Go take over Ireland (Dublin?). They have a silver mine there.

If he's Spain, taking Timbuktu is probably even better. There's 2 gold resources down there, plus more in Arguin to the West. Conquer the riches of Africa.

When you do acquire a territory that has mine-able resource(s), the mine will be built just like any other building in your city build que. Once built it will appear on the campaign map and look a bit like an A frame derrick over the resource. All it does is increase income from that resource, much like farm upgrades increase farm income.