Nasa silver mine

A map of the silver mines from 1646

The Nasa (Nasafjäll) silver mine (Swedish: Nasa silvergruva), located on Nasa Mountain on the border between Sweden and Norway, was used for mining silver, mainly from 1635 to year 1659.^[1]

The Find

It was an indigenous Sami man by the name of Peder Olofsson who had made the first discovery of ore. Although it was a commercial fiasco, the mine never delivered much silver about 860 kg and 250 tons of lead,^[1] however it was historically important as it contributed to the development of infrastructure in this part of Lappland, most notably the Nasa trail and the city of Arjeplog. And was the beginning of Sweden's efforts to become a world power.

Many men were conscripted to work the mines, and were noted to have been worked hard and brutishly, along with receiving little or none of their wages of flour, salt, tobacco and liquor. It was found that the foreman Isak Tiock had been keeping most of the wages for himself as well as cruelly treating those who would not work. Afterwards a royal commission imprisoned him and had all depths paid.^[2]

The Sami

The main supply route for the mine, worked by the Sami and their reindeer

As for the Sami, they were not forced to work in the mines but were conscripted into supply and transport work using their sleds and reindeer. They would take the ore for smelting in Silbojokk, about 60 km away, however many fled to Norway to escape the harsh work on themselves and their animals.^[1]

Plundered

In 1659 a Norwegian invasion force came over the mountains plundering and burning the mine, bringing an end to the operations.^[1]

References

1. "Mining for silver". www.eng.samer.se. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
2. "If History repeats itself…". www.laplandica.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.

Coordinates: 66°28′26″N 15°24′12″E / 66.47389°N 15.40333°E