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.
Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line
Arctic Bulk Minerals bought the mining rights, and operated a train once to twice a year to keep the track and rolling stock maintained. This company filed for bankruptcy in 2002. The mining company was then bought by the local power company Varanger Kraft and Sør-Varanger Municipality. In 2006, they sold the mining company to Tschudi Group for 102 million Norwegian krone (NOK). The Tschudi Group established Northern Iron, registered in Perth, Australia, as a holding company to own the mining company. Operations in the mine and on the line resumed in 2009, after the price of iron had risen dramatically since the closing of the mine. With the opening of the mine, production is estimated at 3 million tonnes of export per year. The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line was the northern-most railway in the world until 2010, when Russia's Obskaya–Bovanenkovo Line was opened.