343:. The thick, poisonous smoke produced would be a distinguishing feature of the Falun area for centuries. After the roasting, the ore was smelted; the output of which was a copper rich material. The cycle of roasting and smelting was repeated several times until crude copper was produced. This was the final output from the mine; further refinement took place at copper refineries elsewhere. This process was used without any major change for seven centuries, until the end of the 19th century. It is likely that the methods and technology for fire-setting and drainage were imported from German mines, such as in the
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539:) that had been built in the 1770s was converted into the Mining Museum. In 1966 the building had to be demolished due to an expansion of the mine and a copy was made. The museum has around 100,000 visitors per year. It displays the history of mining at Falun Mine through the centuries; including the production of minerals, models of machinery, tools, and the people at the mine. It also has a large collection of portraits, starting from the 17th century, of significant people at the mine.
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best paid and most skilled. Hand barrows were used to transport the broken ore, in relays of about 20 m (70 ft) with multiple teams working long distances. This was usually the work newcomers were assigned to prove themselves. The work was hard and the mines very hot from the constant fires, and the miners were good customers of local drinking establishments. Drunkenness was considered quite normal for miners.
474:, was dispatched by the King to survey the European metal market. Although copper production had already begun to decline by the time he made his report, something Odhelius made no secret of, he stated, "For the production of copper Sweden has always been like a mother, and although in many places within and without Europe some copper is extracted it counts for nothing next to the abundance of Swedish copper".
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Fires were lit at the end of the day to heat the ore and allowed to burn through the night. The next morning the fires would be put out and the ore broken loose. In this manner, the miners could advance about 1 m (3 ft) per month. The miners working the fires and breaking the rock were the
399:
of that year, the dividing wall between the main pits and the foundations gave way, and a significant portion of the mine collapsed. This could easily have become a great catastrophe, killing and trapping the hundreds of men working in the mine, had it not occurred on
Midsummer's Eve, one of the two
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The mountain had been mined for nearly half a millennium towards the end of its golden era. Production had intensified in the preceding decades, and by 1687 the rock was crisscrossed by numerous shafts and cave-ins were not unusual. Great effort went into producing maps of the mine for navigation,
445:
visited the mine and produced a vivid description of the life of the miners. He described that the miners climbed rickety ladders with sweat pouring from their bodies like "water from a bath". He continued: "The Falun Mine is one of the great wonders of Sweden but as horrible as hell itself".
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studies indicate, with considerable uncertainty, that mining operations started sometime around the year 1000. No significant activities had begun before 850, but the mine was definitely operating by 1080. Objects from the 10th century have been found containing copper from the mine. In the
523:, one of 15 in Sweden. In addition to the mine itself, the World Heritage area covers the town of Falun, including 17th century miners’ cottages, residential areas, and Bergsmansbygden, a wider area that the free miners settled and in which they often built estates mirroring their wealth.
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By modern standards, however, the output was not large. Peak production barely reached 3,000 tonnes of copper per year, falling to less than 2,000 tonnes by 1665; from 1710 to 1720 it was barely 1,000 tonnes per year. Present worldwide copper production is 18.3 million tons per year;
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had taken over from farmers. The merchants transported and sold the copper in Europe but also influenced the operations and developed the methods and technology used for mining. The first written document about the mine is from 1288; it records that, in exchange for an estate, the
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By the late 20th century, the mine was no longer economically viable. On
December 8, 1992, the last shot was fired in the mine, and all commercial mining ceased. Today the mine is owned by the Stora Kopparberget foundation which operates the museum and tours.
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paint began in earnest. In the 19th century, iron and forest products continued to grow in their importance. In 1881 gold was discovered in Falun Mine, resulting in a short-lived gold rush. A total of 5 tonnes of gold would eventually be produced.
339:. When the rock cooled down, it would become brittle and crack, allowing manual tools such as wedges and sledge hammers to be brought to bear. After the ore had been transported out of the mine it was roasted to reduce sulfur content in open
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In 1815, Berzelius thought he had discovered a new element from an ore coming from Falun, and chose the name thorium for it. He later noticed that he had been mistaken, and that the substance was
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By the mid 14th century, the mine had grown into a vital national resource, and a large part of the revenues for the
Swedish state in the coming centuries would be from the mine. The then king,
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Copper production declined during the 18th century, and the mining company began diversifying. It supplemented copper extraction with iron and timber production. Production of the iconic
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but there was no overall organization nor any estimation of the strength of the mountain. In the summer of 1687, great rumblings could be heard regularly from the mountain. On
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252:. Technological developments at the mine had a profound influence on mining globally for two centuries. The mine is now a museum and in 2001 was designated a
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referred to the mine as the nation's treasury and stronghold. The point of maximum production occurred in 1650, with over 3,000 tonnes of copper produced.
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Linnaeus' description of the environment the miners worked in is as follows: "Soot and darkness surrounded them on all sides. Stones, gravel, corrosive
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Sweden had a virtual monopoly on copper which it retained throughout the 17th century. The only other country with a comparable copper output was
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In the 17th century, production capacity peaked. During this time, the output from the mine was used to fund various wars of Sweden during its
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375:, the modern successor to the old mining company, is often referred to as the oldest joint stock company still operational in the world.
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The great pit that opened up in the 1687 collapse was over a hundred meters (300 ft) deep, photo from 2010.
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There are no written accounts establishing exactly when mining operations at Falun Mine began.
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of Falun Mine created under the 1347 charter was advanced for its time. Free miners owned
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The principal method for extracting copper was heating the rock via large fires, known as
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days of the year on which the miners were not working, the other being
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beginning, operations were of a small scale, with local farmers gathering ore,
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from the 10th century to 1992. It produced as much as two-thirds of Europe's
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Mining Area of the Great Copper
Mountain in Falun - Advisory Body Evaluation
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rather than a new element. When he actually discovered what is now known as
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for mining operations, ensuring the financial interest of the sovereign.
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1023:, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
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International
Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) (2000),
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of the operation, proportional to their ownership of copper
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Stora
Kopparberg - 1000 years of an industrial activity
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592:in 1829, he reused the name for the new discovery.
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UNESCO World
Heritage Site in Dalarna County, Sweden
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1084:For official site names, see each article or the
577:coming from the Falun mine that had been used in
565:was initially discovered and isolated in 1817 by
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1242:Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain, Falun
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1340:Organizations established in the 10th century
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289:it, and using the metal for household needs.
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312:, visited the area personally and drafted a
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779:"1900s and the end of the mining operation"
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1305:Buildings and structures in Dalarna County
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976:Kjellin, Margareta; Ericson, Nina (1999).
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462:A postcard depicting the mine, circa 1907.
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531:In 1922 the old administrative building (
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997:An economic history of Sweden, Volume 95
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305:acquired a 12.5% interest in the mine.
272:of the Falun mine, dated June 16, 1288.
217:The Copper Mine in Falun, the Great Pit
40:The Copper Mine in Falun, the Great Pit
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1086:List of World Heritage Sites in Sweden
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555:in samples coming from Falun and
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250:Sweden's wars in the 17th century
170:Location of Falun Mine in Dalarna
1350:1992 disestablishments in Sweden
1265:Shared with nine other countries
759:Mineral Commodity Summaries 2015
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995:Heckscher, Eli Filip (1954).
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931:The Discovery of the Elements
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999:. Harvard University Press.
961:. Gullers International AB.
952:. Falun: Copper Mine Museum.
858:. 2011-04-16. Archived from
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1290:Underground mines in Sweden
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1178:Grimeton Radio Station
1173:Rock Carvings in Tanum
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980:. Stockholm: Prisma.
948:Forss, Tommy (1990).
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832:"Homesteader estates"
596:Nils Gabriel Sefström
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132:60.59889°N 15.61222°E
1115:Engelsberg Ironworks
1071:World Heritage Sites
571:Johann Gottlieb Gahn
567:Jöns Jakob Berzelius
1247:Struve Geodetic Arc
1232:Kvarken Archipelago
808:"The town of Falun"
604:Johan Gottlieb Gahn
515:World Heritage Site
292:Around the time of
199:Falun Mine (Sweden)
174:Show map of Dalarna
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926:Weeks, Mary Elvira
723:Rydberg, pp. 43–44
573:as an impurity of
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52:Falun Municipality
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978:Genuine Falun Red
669:Rydberg, pp. 9–11
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351:Free miners
135: /
110:Coordinates
100:2001 (25th
97:Inscription
1330:Show mines
1279:Categories
1228:High Coast
1206:Gästgivars
942:References
904:2016-08-24
894:Falu Gruva
866:2023-06-28
841:2009-10-29
817:2009-10-29
793:2016-08-24
783:Falu Gruva
764:2016-08-24
644:2016-08-24
634:Falu Gruva
379:Golden era
373:Stora Enso
294:Magnus III
282:geological
242:millennium
230:Falu Gruva
222:Falun Mine
123:15°36′44″E
120:60°35′56″N
20:Falun Mine
1110:Hovgården
608:manganese
310:Magnus IV
87:Reference
1211:Jon-Lars
928:(1956).
752:"Copper"
600:vanadium
563:Selenium
504:falu red
365:smelters
287:smelting
78:Criteria
47:Location
1261:Finland
1216:Bommars
590:thorium
557:England
533:Swedish
448:vitriol
341:hearths
320:Methods
314:charter
260:History
226:Swedish
102:Session
66:Part of
1075:Sweden
1003:
984:
965:
602:, and
575:pyrite
527:Museum
387:. The
371:, and
361:shares
298:Lübeck
246:copper
238:Sweden
60:Sweden
1188:North
1163:Visby
1147:South
1104:Birka
1021:(PDF)
755:(PDF)
614:Notes
484:Chile
468:Japan
432:drift
270:share
234:Falun
71:Falun
1096:East
1001:ISBN
982:ISBN
963:ISBN
569:and
547:The
355:The
280:and
268:1/8
91:1027
1107:and
1073:in
1281::
913:^
892:.
834:.
810:.
781:.
757:.
653:^
632:.
621:^
559:.
535::
430:A
347:.
256:.
236:,
228::
58:,
54:,
1230:/
1088:.
1063:e
1056:t
1049:v
1009:.
990:.
971:.
907:.
869:.
844:.
820:.
796:.
767:.
647:.
224:(
104:)
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