The history of the Åmdals Verk Copper Mines dates back to 1540 when Christian the 3rd – the king of Denmark-Norway – sent German miners to Tokke to start mining activities. But mining at Åmdals Verk did not start until 1691 when the copper ore was found. The golden age begins in 1861 when British owners are taking over. A mine railway was built to transport the copper ore from the mine to the floatation works. This had a track gauge of 600 millimetres and was probably opened in 1874.
Chain of transportation
In the beginning the ore wagons were pulled by men, but later replaced by horse power. A horse could pull up to seven fully loaded wagons. Ore was first transported from the mine to the sorting house where the museum is situated today. Then the ore wagons were pulled to the floatation works, which was located about 700 metres away. Fine-grained copper ore was then transported by horse and sledge down the hilly road to Bandak harbour. After being sent by barges on the Telemark Canal to Grenland, the ore was mostly shipped to England and Germany.
Museum
Åmdals Verk Copper Mines reached its peak year in 1884, with 300 miners employed and a total production of 400 tonns of copper. The Germans took over during the second world war, and on 16 June 1945 the mine was closed. Today the Åmdals Verk Copper Mines is a museum which is open during the summer months. There are several remains such as the floatation works and a power plant. The mine railway was demolished after the closure, but reconstructed in 1993 as a heritage railway. The museum later bought a diesel locomotive with carriages to transport visitors to the mine, but this train is currently not in use.
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