The museum is settled in the old house that used to accommodate miners from outside the town. The building, acquired from the Companhia das Minas de Carvão (Coal Mines Company) and rebuilt by the S. Pedro da Cova Parish, has been housing the Mining Museum since 30 September 1989. It is the only one of its kind in Portugal, becoming a living example of the preservation of an entire historical past relating to the local mining tradition, as well as the collective memory of the people of São Pedro da Cova.