Thirty years after the Falklands War thousands of abandoned mines, mortars and grenades still dot the remote island chain. But one historic popular haunt has now been rendered safe.

Before the 1982 conflict, the "Stone Corral" had been a favorite place for weekend picnics and socialising with its stunning views across the South Atlantic, as it ebbs and flows off the coast of the capital Stanley.

But it had been largely abandoned after being caught in the crossfire of the 74-day war over the sovereignty of the islands -- held by Britain but claimed by Argentina.

So far, no one has died from unexploded ordnance since the end of the war, which killed 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers.

And all of the islands' minefields have been identified, which has removed some of the urgency to clear them, the islands Governor Nigel Haywood said.

But estimates of how much ordnance is still lying around are hard to pin down.

Kyle Lucas, chief executive officer of BACTEC, a company that specializes in removing military explosives, estimated there could be anywhere between 12,000 and 15,000. The company has already cleared about half a million mines left over from conflicts in some 45 countries.

"We have cleared the area between the minefields to be sure that there's no mortars or grenades there," Lucas said about the stone corral project. "The idea is to give the locals all the land back."

The corral was originally built between 1842 and 1848 and was used to hold cattle driven from Lafonia to Stanley for use as beef by the Stanley residents.

Governor Haywood presided over Monday's reopening ceremony attended by about 60 people, with entertainment from a choir, and beer and sandwiches handed out to the crowd.

With a beer in hand and dressed like any London politician in a land where nearly everyone wears raincoats and rubber boots, Haywood expressed his "satisfaction" with the reopened stone corral.

"People used to come out here and have picnics," Haywood told AFP. "For 30 years you've been able to see it from the road but not been able to get to it, so now it's open again and it's fantastic."

"It just means we can enjoy it as we used to do it before '82," Nancy, who only gave one name, told AFP. "We used to come here and have barbecues."

"It's something symbolic," she added, saying she had been born in Chile but raised in the Falklands.

The de-mining operation was funded by the British government, but much remains still to do.

Tinashe, 27, a Zimbabwean worker who was employed on the demining project, said he and his co-workers are not too worried about the dangers.

"I'm a searcher," Tinashe said. "I do the clearing of the mines and cluster bombs. I detect it, I mark it and then I excavate it to expose it. Then they come and destroy it."