Persberg Canal

Persbergs Canal – Why It Was Built Source: Report to the Board of Directors of the Iron Office (Jernkontoret) on the structures and water supply at Persbergs Iron Ore Field in Värmland, Year 1820. Author: Gustaf Uhr, Director and Mining Mechanician. Transcript: TN

Background – the existing watercourse and its shortcomings

The natural watercourse Yngshytte-Elf, between the lakes Horrsjön and Yngen, formed seven separate falls that had long been used for milling, sawing, and mining operations. However, these falls had several serious deficiencies:

• Too low a head – each fall was only approx. 10 feet high, despite the total head between the lakes amounting to 114 feet. The remainder was taken up by rapids with no usable fall.
• Too great a distance – the falls were located far from the mines they were meant to serve, requiring very long pump rods.
• High maintenance costs – the long machinery was difficult and costly to keep in order. One section was barely repaired before another broke down.
• Insufficient power – friction in the long machinery consumed a large part of the already limited power, and frequent repairs meant operations were constantly interrupted.

Consequences for mining operations

The inadequate machinery had direct consequences for the mines:

• The most important mines could not be worked at the bottom, but were forced to operate in the side walls or – as in Storgruvan – in the ceiling of the working chambers.
• The supply of pump rods decreased steadily while demand increased, threatening to make it impossible to maintain the old machinery.

Origin and execution of the project

Upon completion, the new machinery for Högbergsfältet, Storgruvan, and Haggruvan was in full operation, and Krangruvan’s engine house and wheel structures were approximately ¾ complete. The mill site was prepared and machinery procured.

The principal purpose of the water channel

Savings in maintenance costs were therefore not the only – or even the primary – objective. The main purposes were:

1. Sufficient power close to the mines – to install water wheels with adequate or surplus power at locations within the ore field, from which drive rods could conveniently be directed to any of the surrounding mines.
2. New installations – to create falls and building sites for winding gear (for ore hoisting), a mill, and a sawmill.