The evolution of chemical and physical properties in a series of minesoils aged between 0 and 5 years, developed from spoil materials of the Meirama opencast lignite mine in Galicia (NW Spain), was studied. The soils are recovered without use of top-soil and are subject to identical management. In the surface horizon (0–7 cm), total C and N, CEC, and pyrophosphate-ex-tracted Al2O3and Fe2O3increased with soil age. Oxalic-oxalate-extracted Al2O3and Fe2O3, on the other hand, increased with soil age in all the horizons studied. Rapid recovery in terms of physical properties was also observed: bulk density dropped, while total porosity, percentage of macro-pores, and hydraulic conductivity increased, and aggregates showed greater stability on immersion in water.The results indicate that mineral weathering and organometallic complexation are the dominant processes at these early stages of eda-phogenesis and that properties associated with gas exchange showed more rapid development than those associated with water movement.In spite of the above rapid modifications, the characteristics of the oldest soils in the series were still very different from those of native Galician soils.