ore which is now worked is obtained from the old heaps of gangue, and from
other mines in the country. The ore is smelted in shaft furnaces for lead,
from which the silver is then separated by zinc, and is then precipitated by
electrolysis.
With regard to the production of silver, Sweden possesses data ranging over
a longer succession of time than any other country: right away from 1400 down
to the present day, with the exception of two short periods. The output during
the different periods was as follows.
Year kg Year kg Year kg Year
kS
1400—93 . . 61591 1701—00 . . 36 508 1846—50 . . 6 271 1911
. .1- 289
1506—43 . . 52 881 1801—20 . . 7 894 1851—55 . . 6 329 1912
. . 962
1544—51 . . 22 718 1821—30 . . 5 621 1856—60 . . 5 548 1913
. . 1037
1560—00 . . 19 432 1831—40 . . 8 095 1861—00 . . 79 014
1601—00 . . 60728 1841—45. . 4 749 1901—10 . . 4 074 1 Total1 384786
Adding the years for which statements are lacking, the entire output of silver
for the last five centuries is computed at about 400 000 kilograms, by far the
greater part falling to the Sala Mine.
Gold. Gold is obtained in Sweden only from the Falun- Copper Mine, and
now in very small quantities. Gold was not discovered in the ore till 1881,
although it had been ascertained in the sixties that the copper obtained from
the ore was auriferous. Gold occurs in well-formed quartz veins together with
bismuth, and in varying quantities: from a couple of grams to several hundred
grams per ton of ore.
As long as the Henderson extraction process was used for the working of the ore,
the gold was released by treatment with chlorine by the Plattner-Munktell process.
Now that the smelting process has been reverted to, the gold is obtained
together with the silver in the refined copper. The total amount of gold obtained
from the Falun Mine aggregates about 2 tons, representing a value of
approximately 5 million kronor.
Besides the Falun Mine, there has existed only one real gold mine in Sweden,
namely Adelfors. This mine, which was discovered in 1738, was worked till
1822, but on a very small scale, and with very poor results.
Nickel. Nickel was formerly produced at two works in Sweden, notably
Kleva and Sagmyra. When, in the eighties of the last century, the biggest
known nickel deposit in the world was discovered — at Sudbury in Canada —
and the price of nickel sank to nearly half, these two works had to be shut
down, and since that time no nickel has been manufactured in Sweden. Besides
the nickel ores at Kleva and Sagmyra, there are several other ore deposits, e. g.
at Frustuna, Haddbo, Ruda. The ore in “ 'all the mines consists of magnetic
pyrites; however, the supplies are in most cases comparatively insignificant, and
the percentage of nickel is so low, that prospects for a remunerative production
of nickel are almost nil with the metal at its present price.
Zinc. Sweden possesses pretty considerable supplies of zinc: they consist exclusively
of zinc blende. In 1913 were obtained 50 752 tons of ore, making
about 3 % of the world’s production, and representing a value of about
2 100 000 kronor. The bulk of the ore mined is obtained from the Amme-
berg mines, belonging to the Belgian company Vieille Montagne, and the rest
from Ryllshyttefaltet, Kaveltorpsfaltet, Saxbergsfaltet, Stollbergsgruvan, and the
Dannemora mines.
Notwithstanding the rich supplies of zinc ore, there has been no manufacture
of zinc in Sweden in recent years. The chief reason is that the usual, and
1 Data are lacking for the periods from 1494 to 1505 and 1552 to 1559. I t is also to
be observed that the periods do not include equal number of years.
until latterly thè sole process employed for the manufacture of zinc demanded
a great consumption of fuel, and Sweden is deficient in cheap fuel for this
purpose. Now, however, e le c t r i c smelting furnaces have been successfully used
for the manufacture of zinc: in these furnaces the fuel is to a great extent
replaced by electric energy. This process, originally proposed by the swede de
Laval, has been adopted at the zinc works erected five years ago at Trollhat-
tan, the only zinc works that now exist in Sweden. For an account of these
works the reader is referred to the section: The Electrochemical Industry.
4. MEASURES FOR THE PROMOTION OF MINING.
Administration of Mining. Matters relating to Mining were formerly
managed by the Bergskollegium or Board of Mines, instituted in 1630. In
1858, this office was abolished and its business transferred to the Kom-
merskollegium or Board o f Trade (until 1900 under the Home Department,
but now under the Finance Department). After reorganization in
1891, one of the three bureaus into which the Board was divided was
reserved for mining matters as well as industry in general. With reference
to the Office of Mine Maps, which is under the same bureau, see p. 262
Mining statistics since 1858 have been compiled by the Board of Trade;
the statistical methods have recently been reorganized, and yielded results
of far greater value and reliability.
Jernkontoret (Iron Institute) or the Society of Ironmasters is an institution
peculiar to Sweden; its mission is to give financial support and
encouragement to the Swedish iron industry.
The actual founder of the “Jernkontoret” was A. Nordencrantz. The Society
founded by Royal charter of the 29th Dec. 1747, commenced its work in 1748.
At first it was under the supervision by the Secret Committee of the Riksdag,
but since "1769, it has possessed complete independence. The present regulations
date from the 26th Jan. 1894, with minor amendments of the 26th July
1901.
Most of the Swedish Iron works are part-owners in the “Jernkontoret”, where
they have a ' vote; they pay annual contributions to the funds, amounting to
about 0-69 kronor per ton of originally registered iron. The Board consists of 10
members of which 5 form an executive committee. Each member is appointed
for three years at the general meeting of the Society, generally known as the
»JernTcontorsriksdag» or “Iron Parliament”.
The main object of the “Jernkontoret” is to assist the members with loans on
favourable conditions. Especially during the first period of its existence, the
“Jernkontoret” sent considerable sums of money down to the big iron market at
Kristinehamn; and in times of depression the “Jernkontoret” itself purchased
iron from iron manufacturers, with the express purpose of keeping prices at a
fair and equable level”. It now restricts itself mainly to advancing working
capital, and making other loans for special purposes (e. g. for building loans, etc.).
But, as has been said, the “Jernkontoret” has another, important mission, namely
the scientific and technical improvement of the Swedish iron industry.
For this purpose the “Jernkontoret” annually grants considerable sums for