Destination Skorovas
Skorovas is located in the far south-east of Namsskogan. The former mining community, which at its peak had 600-700 inhabitants, is today a popular place for holidays and leisure. How about a day or two on the marked tourist association trails or skiing on the fantastic ski slopes, and then enjoy the evening at Skjenkestova ?
SKOROVAS IN THE BEGINNING
In 1873, the first mines were opened, and it was not until 1910 that ore was found. Those who found this sold the rights in 1913 to "Det Norske Aktieselskapet for Elektrokemiske Industrier", which secured the rights for 80,000 kroner. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, there was panic among the population, and they left. In 1915, the people returned home. It was in this year that the pyrite deposit, which is the third largest known in Norway, was actually found. From 1917 to 1920, development was prepared, and this continued into the 1930s. In 1918, the first employee was hired.
Road and buildings
In 1936, the first permanent settlement was established, and in the autumn of 1938 the road to Skorovatn was completed. Further development of infrastructure in Skorovatn began in 1942, and continued until 1952. The last new housing was built for the National Ski Championships in 1967, with the exception of two municipal teacher housing units that were built in the 1970s.
Cable car
In 1938, plans were made to build a cable car to Kongsmoen. A stretch of 45 km. Construction of the cable car began during the war in 1942. The work was then handed over to the German company Bleichert. The facility cost 14 million NOK. The cable car consisted of: 169 masts, 23 tensioning stations, 2 angle stations, the highest mast was 34 m. The facility had 600 kebbs with approx. 800 kg of payload on each. The speed on the track was 2.8 m per. sec. That is approx. 4.5 hours Skorovas – Kongsmoen. On February 2, 1976, all transport of kis was transferred from cable car to car.
Mining startup
In the summer of 1939 it was decided to start developing the mine, but before the construction work could begin, World War II came with the occupation and stopped everything. In 1942, work was resumed at the request of the Germans. In the future, a number of workers' and civil servants' housing were built, as well as other buildings related to operations, etc. In addition, offices, fairs, a shop, a community center, a car repair shop, a hobby shop, a carpentry shop, a plumbing shop, laboratories, an electrical workshop, a doctor's office, a chapel, etc. were built. At most, about 600 -700 people lived in Skorovas.
Production
In 1952, the deposit of 10 million tons of ore was put into production. The first kibble of pyrite arrived at Kongsmoen on December 1, 1952.
On March 28, 1953, the first cargo of kisam was shipped out of Kongsmoen. Annual production was approximately 150,000 tons per year. During the production period, kisam-containing waste rock was transported directly to “Gråbergtippen”, on the north side of Rauberget, just above Daudsjøen. Operations continued until 1984, when the mining adventure ended.
Implemented environmental measures after mining
The waste rock dump of an estimated 150,000 m3 (300 – 400,000 tons) has been removed and deposited underwater in Daudsjøen. You can also see today where it has been by the color of the rock. After the mines stopped in 1984, it was deposited at the bottom of Daudsjøen. The bedrock under the dump masses was cleaned. The masses have been limed and covered. The water level in Daudsjøen has been raised by approx. 2 meters. The shaft openings and cable risers have been re-cast with concrete. The mine has been filled with water through forced filling. Today, the runoff is satisfactory after the day's requirements. Likewise, a good part of the building mass around the mining operation has been removed today, as well as a few residential buildings. The work was completed in 1990 as the first project of this type in Europe.
The place today
The place is today very popular as a leisure area, and this is reflected in the number of people who have bought a holiday home. Today, the Skorovas community consists of approx. 54 permanent residents divided into 23 households, and 97 holiday homes. Skorovas Gruber AS is focusing on Skorovas as a year-round destination and is now offering building plots.
Sources: The Norwegian Mining Association through 50 years, Alle Tiders Skorovas (Ola Hjulstad, the development team Fjelliv AL),
special assignment by Bjørn Dahl.
