Kongsberg Silver Mines
The silver mines of Kongsberg, in Buskerud county in Norway, constitute the largest mining field in Norway, with over 80 different mines. It was the largest pre-industrial working place in Norway, with over 4,000 workers at its peak in the 1770s and supplied over 10% of the gross national product of the Danish–Norwegian union during its 335-year-long history: over 450,000 man-years were expended in the production.
Løkken Mine
The Løkken Mine is an underground pyrite mine located in the municipality of Meldal in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. The mine was operative from 1654 to 1987, from the mining community Løkken Verk. It contained the largest deposits of its kind in Norway. Between 1654 and 1845, a total of 11,300 tons of copper was produced from the mine. From 1904 the mine was run by the company Orkla Grube-Aktiebolag, and until 1987 a total of 24 million tons of pyrite was produced from the mine. In addition to sulphur, the pyrite contained about 2% copper, in addition to zinc and traces of silver and gold. The products were originally transported to the sea by horse and sledge during winter time. From 1908 the ore was transported by the Thamshavn Line, which was the first electrical railway line in Norway. The annual production was about 350,000 tons of ore during its final years.