History of the Braske Mines

Early References and Merger

The Braske mines are first mentioned in the records in 1761, as the Northern and Southern Braskegruvan.

The two mines had different stakeholders but shared a common surface opening.
Already by 1762 the mines had broken through to one another and shared a common ownership.
When the ore was followed towards the south, workings came beneath the floor of the Born and Nils Torsten mines. To avoid disputes over ore rights, the mines were merged in 1795.

From the mid-1880s, the Braske and Nils-Torsten mines were counted as one and the same mine, as they had broken through to each other. Operations at the two merged mines ceased in 1906 at a depth of 132.8 metres, marking the end of extraction at the Högberg field.

Key Dates and Events

Year	Event
1806	A pump arm was brought down from Nygruvan’s pump wheel, located in the Yngshyttan river approximately 2,950 metres from the mine.
1815	Problems with the pump machinery, which could only be used for a short time.
1816	Work suspended during the summer due to repairs on the pump machinery.
1817	Further repairs on the pump machinery. The wheel and first section as far as Nygruvan had been built in 1771, requiring extensive maintenance.
1821	Mine flooded, most likely due to the rerouting of the pump conduit to the new wheel at Flintkärret, which received water from the newly built Persberg canal.
1841	New pump construction begun.
1842	New pump machinery completed.
1849	Mine pumped clear of water. A new shaft begins to be cut from the floor of Bornsgruvan to provide a straight and efficient hoisting route.
1852	The new shaft completed.
1859–1880	No work carried out at the mine.
1882	Pump machinery extended to the new Braske shaft.
1883	A communication level was driven from the Tilas adit to the Braske shaft, the level measuring 24 metres in length.
1884	The Braske shaft was widened to accommodate the needs of the pump, hoisting and ladder way.
1890	In the working chamber Tippu Tip at 53–57 m elevation, a wall stope is driven in the western wall. At 106 m elevation the level Zanzibar has been driven beneath Krakbogruvan towards Sjögruvan.

Historical Account by P. Öberg (1888)

The mine was worked during the latter half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.
In 1858 it was closed down due to a lack of ore.
During the final years before investigation, the mine was again pumped clear of water and rock in order to be inspected. The investigation showed that the mine was almost entirely depleted of ore at the time of closure, which is also evident from the records.

Ownership and hoisting:

The Högberg mines were owned by Persbergs Gruvaktiebolag.
Rock and water hoisting was carried out via two water wheels located 1,200 metres from the mine.

Maps:

The oldest map was drawn up in 1784 by A. Polheimer.
The new map was produced following control surveys by P. Öberg.

Persberg, February 1888 – P. Öberg. Transcript: TN.