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.
History of Ny-Ålesund
The mine flooded on 26 April 1949 and it took half a year to empty it. Production that year ended at 40,000 tonnes. A series of upgrades were carried out, bringing production up to 80,000 tonnes in 1951. On 7 January 1951 there was an explosion in the Ester V Mine, killing nine men. The same day a mining explosion in Longyearbyen killed six people, and a common investigation was carried out by a government committee. A year later, on 19 March 1952, yet another explosion took place in the Ester Mine, this time killing nineteen men. The miners sent a letter to the Minister of Justice stating that they would not work until the safety measures proposed by the previous two commissions were carried out. A new commission was dispatched to Ny-Ålesund, which found that some of the safety measured had been carried out, and some had not. It recommended that new safety measures be implemented. In the mean time mining was placed on hold.
Parliament granted NOK 1.2 million to upgrade the mines, with the company having an operating deficit of NOK 2.9 million that year. A further grant of NOK 1.9 million was issued the following year. The population dropped to 72 while production was halted. In 1954 there was produced 5,000 tonnes of coal, mostly for the towns own consumption. By 1955 the estimates for continuing operation, mostly prominently the need for improved ventilation systems, reached an estimate of NOK 20 million. A certain amount of production was resumed, reaching 15,000 tonnes in 1955. Parliament approved a new production plan on 20 March 1956, which set a production goal of 200,000 tonnes of coal annually. The company built a new power station, bath and a fire station, as well as additional housing. Ester I was re-opened and upgraded. Production gradually increased to 47,000 in 1958, before falling again, in part because of falling coal prices.