!!!Bergbau

Mining: Even in prehistoric times, copper was mined in the provinces 
of Salzburg and Tyrol,  Salt at Hallstatt and Hallein, lead in 
Carinthia and iron at Huettenberg and many other locations. Important 
underground mines from the Hallstatt period with timberings, hoisting 
systems and ladder-ways have been found in Upper Austria, Salzburg and 
Tyrol (in the salt mines down to a depth of 300 metres). The Romans 
searched for gold, silver, lead and iron ore in the Hohe Tauern Range. 
Iron from Noricum was in high demand because of its quality and 
hardness. In the early Middle Ages the long interruption caused by the 
migration of the Germanic peoples had to be overcome. At first there 
were only small and primitive mining sites. It was not until the High 
and Late Middle Ages that salt and iron-ore mining experienced rapid 
growth and reached a peak at the beginning of the Modern Age. In the 
15%%sup th/%  and 16%%sup th/%  centuries  Gold and  Silver mining was 
most important. Salt mining was a prerogative ("Kammergut") of the 
sovereign. Under the emperors Friedrich II and Maximilian I, 
salt mining came entirely under state control. Ore mining, in 
contrast, was mainly carried out by cooperatives of independent 
miners. Around the end of the 15%%sup th/%  century, these were joined 
by an increasing number of important financiers, which entailed the 
establishment of a new legal form of mining co-operative. Their 
members, the so-called "Gewerke", were joint owners of the mine and 
personally liable.

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In the age of Mercantilism, mines which had been abandoned during the 
Reformation and the Peasants' Revolts were reopened. In the period of 
Neo-absolutism, the state gained increasing influence over mining and 
also established its own training institutes for mining officials ( 
University of Mining and Metallurgy at Leoben) and schools of mining 
and smelting.

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By the Middle Ages, the pitmen (or "Knappen") were highly regarded as 
"honourable people" and in great demand as specialists. Their 
privileges were soon laid down in the  Mining Law, for the development 
of which the provinces of Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria were most 
influential. Miners played an important role in the struggles of the 
Reformation and Counter-Reformation; during the Peasants' Revolts they 
joined forces with the peasants in some places to defend their 
freedoms. Even today they still continue some of their traditional 
customs (St. Barbara's celebrations, the "Ledersprung" jump over 
a piece of leather, a kind of "initiation" ritual for new pitmen, and 
the "Reiftanz", a special kind of dance, etc.)

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The growth of mining led to a number of important inventions in the 
field of mining technology in Austria. Around 1515, the horse-driven 
whim for shaft driving was introduced in Tyrolean mines. Drainage was 
improved and the first mining car ("Grubenhunt") appeared. The Sackzug 
for transporting water and materials was introduced for open-cast 
mining, the stamp mill ("Nasspochwerk") and the amalgamation process 
were developed for gold mining, perpendicular conveyance was 
introduced in silver mining. The introduction of an early type of 
smelting oven (Flossofen) in Carinthia formed the basis for heavy 
industry ( Iron, important centres being Eisenerz, Leoben and Steyr). 
Mining surveying technology carried out by surveyors, the so-called 
"Markscheider", greatly improved with the invention of surveying tools 
(Alpenkompass, Schinzeuge). Finally, the introduction of explosives in 
mining led to a sharp increase in production figures at the beginning 
of the 18%%sup th/%  century.

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Gold and silver mining, which had played a major role at local level 
up until the end of the 16th century, had to be discontinued due to 
the extensive exhaustion and glaciation of deposits. Until the 
19%%sup th/%  century, the extent of mining in Austria was largely 
determined by the domestic and often only the local market. Railways 
and steamships brought rich overseas mineral resources onto the world 
market and increased competition. In the Vormaerz era the systematic 
mining of  Coal began; new branches of industry promoted the mining of 
non-ferrous metals and other mineral resources.

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From the second half of the 19%%sup th/%  century, mining of  Graphite 
and Magnesite in Veitsch (from 1881) and near Radenthein in Carinthia 
(from 1908) was practised. In both, Austria was the leading world 
producer of fire-resistant products. The transformation of the vast 
monarchy into a republic had a decisive effect on mining in Austria. 
It was no longer possible to achieve the pre-war production figures 
and Austria lost its monopoly of manganese and graphite. The mining of 
iron ore, as well as of lead and copper ore decreased sharply and was 
even temporarily discontinued during the crisis years of the First 
Republic. Coal mining was only intensively developed in the Second 
Republic. Drilling for  Petroleum began after 1930). Alongside 
petroleum,  Natural Gas has also been found at many sites. In 1946, 
part of the Austrian mining industry was nationalised ( 
nationalisation). In 1999 there were 42 oil and natural gas 
enterprises in Austria and approximately 1,500 mining sites under the 
control of the mining authority. In mining, only 3% are deep mined, 2% 
deep mined and open-cast, and 95% only open-cast. Development is still 
slightly recessive.

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The mineral ores currently extracted can be categorised in three 
groups: bergfreie (i.e. free for exploitation by persons who are not 
necessarily owner of the land on which it is found) mineral resources 
(iron ores, lead ores, zinc ores, tungsten ores, gypsum, anhydrite, 
graphite, talcum, kaolin, limestone, magnesite, dolerite, oil shale); 
bundeseigene or state-owned mineral resources (rock salt, petroleum 
and natural gas) and grundeigene or individually owned mineral 
resources (quartz, brick clays, dolomite, marl, feldspar, trass, 
basaltic rock etc.).

!Literature
G. B. Fettweis et al., Bergbau im Wandel, 1988; 
Bundesministerium fuer wirtschaftliche Angelegenheiten (Federal 
Ministry of Economic Affairs, ed.), Oe. Montan-Handbuch, 1998.


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