opencast landscape

The Komáří hůrka hill opencast is the largest near surface remain of tin mining in the Krupka mining district. The oval-shaped opencast (combined with an underground collapse) contains a surface area of around 5,000 square meters measuring 140 x 45 m and depth up to 75 m. A large greisen body has been exploited. The ore occurs as impregnations of cassiterite (tin mineral), chalcopyrite (copper mineral) and pyrite. Mining in this area has been documented since 1416. At the end of the 15th century, the area was further developed by the Dürrholz drainage adit, the most important historic adit of the Krupka district. In the surrounding area, a number of underground mines have been operated as well. The most important has been the Glatz mine, founded in the 1680s on a site between older mines. The mines extracted tin and to a lesser extent copper from depths approaching 200 m.