toward the end of the 15th century. Sulphur was mined primarily in the vicinity of Lake Mývatn and in Krýsuvίk on the Reykjanes peninsula in open-cast mines, with Húsavίk serving as the main shipping port [...] trade illustrates the dominance of foreign powers over Iceland: the kings of Norway controlled the mining in the 12th century until the English, who originally sailed into Icelandic waters to fish, took [...] crown secured a monopoly. By the end of the 16th century the deposits were largely depleted, but mining continued until well into the 20th century. In 1602, the Danish king imposed a general monopoly on

resulted in more and more smokestacks shooting out of the ground and a huge increase in factories, coal mines and steelworks; villages merged into towns, and sleepy hamlets were transformed into booming cities

initiated the rapid expansion of coal mining. Prussia for example, holding a profitable monopoly for the salt trade as many countries did, reorganized the entire mining sector to further increase the profits [...] "Hallstatt", because the german syllable "Hall-" goes back to the greek word salt. In the Hallstatt mine people already chiselled big chunks of rock salt from the walls in the 14th century BC. Between 800 [...] first Celtic era, production virtually went through the roof. Whole families laboured in the wide mining spaces underground. The men, dressed in finely woven, coloured woollen capes, broke large, heart

development of the new "V"-rockets. In the hasty preparation of the subterranean sites, mostly old mining plants or tunnels, tens of thousands of forced workers and prisoners from concentration camps met

ON THE HISTORY OF MINING Listen Coal from European and American collieries was the universal fuel during the Industrial Revolution. Nonetheless technical inventions in mining played a relatively insignificant [...] long time. Thus, for centuries technical developments failed to move on from the Middle Ages, when mining in central Europe had been dominated by silver and gold. Hydraulic power was the main source of energy [...] the coal supplies. Only a few steam engines went into operation on the continent; in the Belgian mining areas around Liège and Mons. Improvements to Newcomen’s model, and new machines developed by James

cannons, mining began in some places in the 16th century. Kongsberg near Oslo (later "Kristiania") became a mining centre when silver was discovered there in 1623. Copper ore began to be mined in Røros [...] technical progress throughout Europe affected the Norwegian mining industry. The traditional copper mines in both Røros and Løkken switched to mining pyrite (sulphur gravel), which was in demand for the production [...] the "Titania AS" mined ilmenite (titanium iron ore) from 1916 onwards, from which the paint industry produced a brilliant white. Even in faraway Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean, coal mines were opened. Finally

heavy industry: oil and gas extraction, machinery, chemicals and transport had the highest priority, mining and metal processing expanded as well, and even the traditional industries of food production, wood

However, the Slovenian export in greatest demand was quicksilver from Idrija. By the 18th century, the mines and smelters, in operation since 1509, had become the world’s largest quicksilver producer. At about [...] emergence of glass manufacturing, an industry that still flourishes today, in addition to the coal mines. Also at this time, the Habsburgs developed Trieste into a major trading port. As handling volumes [...] deployed in Ljubljana. Foreign-controlled corporations acquired the iron works at Jesenice and the coal mines in Trbovlje. However, agricultural and forestry products such as food, leather, wood and paper remained

projects included a metalworking combine in Pernik, where coal had been mined since the 19th century, as well as chemical plants and coal mines in the vicinity of the new model socialist city Dimitrovgrad. Most

has a long mining tradition, it remained an agricultural nation until well into the 20th century. The late Middle Ages was the golden age of Slovakian mining: gold, silver and copper from mines throughout [...] rank of city on account of its gold, silver and copper mines; later, the city enjoyed a renaissance driven by iron mining. The importance of the mining region gradually declined from the start of the 16th [...] Slovakia sank into poverty. The mining tradition, however, lived on: in the 18th century, Maria Theresia established a mining academy in Banská Štiavnica, and Slovakian mines were still delivering a large

production was the most successful, in particular the manufacture of woollens in Covilha. The tungsten mines near Fundão were another example, as were the expanding tobacco and cork processing, and paper, ceramics

instance, were among the pioneers in building steel ships and steamships. The ancient silver and lead mines at Lavrion, near Athens, were reopened, though interestingly with French capital. The government expanded [...] such as machine tools, chemical and textile production outstripped food and tobacco processing. Mining expanded thanks to the discovery of bauxite, the most important raw material for manufacturing aluminium

machines was installed: From 1720 onwards, Thomas Newcomen's steam engine pumped mine water to the surface in a coal mine near Liège. Shortly afterwards, one colliery after another in the area around Mons [...] continent began in Belgium, where conditions were similarly good to those in England: coal had been mined in the valleys of the Meuse and Sambre since the 13th century, iron processing developed in Charleroi [...] introduced steam-powered pumps which enabled greater depths to be explored and industrial-scale coal mining began before the turn of the century. The economy in Flanders and Wallonia received a powerful boost

Sweden has very few coal deposits. Until the end of the 17th century, copper from the long-established mine in Falun also played an important role: it enabled Sweden to finance its bid to become a major power [...] in Alingsås, and the polymath engineer Mårten Triewald erected the first steam engine at the iron mine in Dannemora. However, both enterprises failed and Sweden remained a poor, agrarian country for a [...] constructed to the north, including the ore railway from Luleå to Narvik in Norway, which connected the mines to both the Baltic and the Atlantic. Education policy also played an important role: complementing

technology. Coal mining in Silesia commenced as early as the end of the 18th century, and 1788 saw the commissioning of the first steam engine in the revitalised silver and lead mining operations in Tarnowitz [...] of this nation occurred during the decisive 150 years in which Europe’s first textile works, coal mines and railways were built. During those years, parts of today’s Poland belonged to the neighbouring [...] (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie), which bordered on the former Prussian Province of Upper Silesia, based on mining and processing of local coal and iron ore reserves. In Warsaw (Warszawa), which was long dominated

Azerbaijan is largely a history of oil. Iron, copper and other ores also lie in the country's soil, but mining remained comparatively modest. Agriculture dominated ... more BELARUS Belarus has few natural resources [...] continent began in Belgium, where conditions were similarly good to those in England: coal had been mined in the valleys of the Meuse ... more BOSNIA&HERZEGOVINA Although Bosnia-Herzegovina is a land of fertile

in Alsace. After coal was discovered near Oignies in 1842, adjacent to the northern mining district, the huge mining region of Nord-Pas de Calais was created. In Lorraine, the De Wendels expanded iron [...] later "Départment du Nord", coal fields were discovered in 1720 - by the end of the century, the mines already employed thousands of workers. However, widespread industrialisation did not take off - poor [...] resistance and the notorious shortage of capital. In 1827, the first train carried coal from the mining area around St. Etienne to the Loire for shipment, and in 1832 the route was extended to Lyon, the

railway connection, large-scale mining of the country's only significant coal deposits began in Limburg, the southernmost province. Over the next thirty years, 12 mines erected their winding towers there [...] systematic exploitation of raw materials began on Java and Sumatra: private investments flowed into tin mines, oil fields and rubber plantations. After the controversial "cultivation system" was abolished in

spinning machine was constructed in 1782 in Chemnitz, an early centre of mechanical engineering. Coal mining and iron processing developed mainly in Upper Silesia, because there the Prussian state took care [...] stage. In the Aachen region and in Saarland, both of which were under French rule at the time, coal mining also expanded. At the same time, the first nuclei of the new industries were formed in the farmland [...] activities from the Aachen area to the Ruhr. Essen developed into the new centre: there the first deep mining shafts opened up new coal deposits, and the Krupp cast steel factory expanded. The workforce came

Development thus followed a painful, inefficient, up-and-down course. When textile fabrics, coal mines and iron works began appearing in Britain in the mid-18th century, the course of Hungary’s economy