A ''Bergamt'' or mining office is a mining supervisory authority in German-speaking countries below the level of the state. It exercises immediate supervision of all activities, facilities and equipment associated with
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
. This includes the promotion and monitoring of operational safety and
workplace safety.
Germany
In Germany, the legal basis for the supervision of mining operations is the Federal Mining Act (''Bundesberggesetz''). The states are responsible for the execution of the act through their respective state authorities which are:
*
Freiburg Regional Authority (''Regierungspräsidium Freiburg'') for Baden-Württemberg
*North Bavaria Mining Office (''Bergamt Nordbayern'') and South Bavaria Mining Office (''Bergamt Südbayern'') for Bavaria
*State Office of Mining, Geology and Raw Materials (''Landesamt für Bergbau, Geologie und Rohstoffe'') for Berlin and Brandenburg
*State Office of Mining, Energy and Geology (''Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie'') for Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein
*
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
(''Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt''), Gießen (''Regierungspräsidium Gießen'') and Kassel (''Regierungspräsidium Kassel'') regional authorities for Hesse
*Stralsund Mining Office (''Bergamt Stralsund'') for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
*
Arnsberg Regional Authority (''Bezirksregierung Arnsberg''), office in Dortmund, previously ''Landesoberbergamt Nordrhein-Westfalen'' in Dortmund
*State Office of Geology and Mining (''Landesamt für Geologie und Bergbau'') for Rhineland-Palatinate
*Saarbrücken Mining Office (''Bergamt Saarbrücken''), subordinate to the Head Mining Office of the Saar (''Oberbergamt des Saarlandes'')
*
Saxon Mining Office
The Saxon Mining Office (german: Sächsisches Oberbergamt) is the executive authority for mining rights in the German state of Saxony. It is also responsible for all non-metallic mineral resources on the terrain of the former East Germany.
Histo ...
(''Sächsisches Oberbergamt'') for Saxony
*State Office of Geology and Mining (''Landesamt für Geologie und Bergwesen'') for Saxony-Anhalt
*Thuringian State Mining Office (''Thüringer Landesbergamt'') for Thuringia
Austria
In
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
it used to be the ''Berghauptmannschaft'' until the Mineral Raw Material Act came into force on 1 January 1999, when that was replaced by the ''Montanbehörden''.
Netherlands
In the
Netherlands
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, state supervision of mining is carried out by the ''Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen (SodM)''. An important role is its oversight of oil extraction in the North Sea.
Regional Mining Offices
* Bergamt Kamen
Historic Mining Offices
* Bergamt Hamm
See also
*
Bergordnung
The Bergordnung were the mining regulations or law enacted in order to exercise the royal mining rights or ''Bergregal'' in central Europe in medieval times.
See also
* Bergrecht
* Bergregal
Literature
* Hermann Brassert (ed.): ''Berg-Ordn ...
*
Bergrecht
*
Bergregal
The ''Bergregal'' () was the historic right of ownership of untapped mineral resources in parts of German-speaking Europe; ownership of the ''Bergregal'' meant entitlement to the rights and royalties from mining. Historically, it was one of th ...
*
Saxon Mining Office
The Saxon Mining Office (german: Sächsisches Oberbergamt) is the executive authority for mining rights in the German state of Saxony. It is also responsible for all non-metallic mineral resources on the terrain of the former East Germany.
Histo ...
*
Mining in the Harz
Mining in the Upper Harz region of central Germany was a major industry for several centuries, especially for the production of silver, lead, copper, and, latterly, zinc as well. Great wealth was accumulated from the mining of silver from the 16t ...
External links
Austrian Mineran Raw Materials ActThe North Rhine-Westphalia Head Mining Office historic summary of the development and history of the office
Westphalia: History of Mining Supervision in Westphalia
{{Authority control
Mining organizations
Mining in Germany
Mining law and governance