Stordø Kisgruber

Stordø Kisgruber was a Norwegian mining company which operated the pyrite mines in Litlabø at Stord in Hordaland, Norway.[1]

The elevator tower at Stordø Kisgruber at Litlabø, Stord

Mining for pyrite at Litlabø had first been established in 1865. Stordø Kisgruber A/S was established in 1907 and maintained mining operations which ended in 1968. A total of about eight million tons of ore was won during the operation of the mine. Under the elevator tower is the main mine shaft which went straight down about 750 meters deep. Altogether there are 80 km of shafts into the mountain. A railway line operated between Litlabø and the quays at Sagvåg.[2] [3]

During the Nazi occupation of Norway, the mines delivered pyrite to Germany for use by the country's war industry. During 1941, this amounted to 9,000 tons per month. In January 1943 the mines were targeted by the British Commando raid Operation Cartoon. Several dynamite charges were set off in various buildings at Litlabø. The hoist machine, the compressor house and the locomotive engine shed, among others, were blown up.[4]

The Mining Museum at Litlabø (Norwegian: Gruvemuseet på Litlabø) was later established to commemorate the mines and the accompanying society.[5][6]

References
  1. Frå soga om gruvene på Litlabø (gruo.no)
  2. Godal, Anne Marit (ed.). "Stordø Kisgruver". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. From the History of the Litlabø Mines (Written by Per Ivar Tautra, English translation by Sigmund Grønsdal)
  4. Haga, Arnfinn (1984). Klar til storm. Med de norske commandos i annen verdenskrig (in Norwegian). Cappelen. pp. 47–69. ISBN 82-02-09088-1.
  5. Lauritzen, Per Roger, ed. (2013). NAF Veibok 2014-2016 (in Norwegian) (30 ed.). Oslo: Norges Automobil-Forbund. p. 244. ISBN 978-82-7167-124-2.
  6. Gruvemuseet på Litlabø. Til minne om Stordø Kisgruber (gruo.no)
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