Slag Ravine

Fictional record. This page describes a mine from a fictional setting, not a real place. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.

Also known as	Pazu's Town, Pazu's Mines
Setting	Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli)
Location	A 19th-century European-style mining town in a deep valley, where the orphan Pazu works, in Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky (1986).
Type	Working mine with abandoned old workings (the mineral is not named; the old workings hold aetherium-bearing rock)
Worked	? – Still working at the time of the film
Extent	Shafts and mine railways in the ravine, and abandoned shafts and galleries below, where Uncle Pom lives.
Controlled by	Mr. Duffi (At the time of the film)

Overview

The mining town where Castle in the Sky begins, called Slag Ravine in the English dub: Pazu works there under the mine boss Mr. Duffi, catches Sheeta as she floats down by a mineshaft, and later shelters with her in the old workings, where the miner Uncle Pom shows them rock glowing with Aetherium.

History

Pazu, an orphan whose late father had also worked there, works at the mine under the boss, Mr. Duffi. One night he sees a light descending from the sky and runs to the mineshaft, where he catches the unconscious Sheeta as she floats down, carried by her glowing stone. Pursued by air pirates and soldiers, the two fall from the mine railway's tracks and drift down into an abandoned shaft, where they meet Uncle Pom, an old miner who lives underground. In the dark he shows them the rocks around them glowing with Aetherium, the element of Sheeta's crystal and of the flying island of Laputa, and warns that its power belongs to the earth. Miyazaki based the mining village on what he saw in South Wales in 1984 and 1985, during and after the miners' strike, including Big Pit, then a museum.

Workings

Shafts and a mine railway, and long-abandoned shafts and galleries where Aetherium crystals glow in the rock and fade on contact with the air.

What became of it

Working at the time of the film.

Canon & adaptations

'Slag Ravine' is the name used in the Disney English dub and on the Ghibli Wiki; the town is otherwise unnamed and the Ghibli Wiki also calls it Pazu's Town or Pazu's Mines. The Japanese original was not checked. 'Aetherium' is the Disney dub's word for the levitation stone.

Recorded claims

Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.

Pazu, an orphan, works as a mechanic in a 19th-century mining town. (explicit canon) ^1,2
The town is called Slag Ravine in the English dub, and also Pazu's Town or Pazu's Mines. (explicit canon, uncertain) ^1,3
Mr. Duffi is the mine boss and Pazu's employer. (explicit canon) ^1,4
In an abandoned shaft the old miner Uncle Pom shows Pazu and Sheeta rock glowing with Aetherium, which fades when exposed to the air. (explicit canon) ¹
Miyazaki's visits to Wales during and after the 1984-85 miners' strike, including Big Pit, informed the opening scenes in the mining village. (explicit canon) ²

Sources

(interpretation) Castle in the Sky/Plot — Ghibli Wiki — Fandom (community wiki)
(authorised secondary) Castle in the Sky — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
(interpretation) Pazu's Town — Ghibli Wiki — Fandom (community wiki)
(interpretation) Duffi — Ghibli Wiki — Fandom (community wiki)

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026