Stordø Kisgruber was a Norwegian mining company which operated the

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

mines in

Litlabø Litlabø is a village and former mining community in the municipality of Stord in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the northern side of the lake of Storavatnet, just northeast of the village of Sagvåg. The village had about 450 inhab ...

Stord Stord is a municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since i ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

, Norway. Mining for pyrite at Litlabø had first been established in 1865. Stordø Kisgruber A/S was established in 1907 and maintained mining operations which ended in 1968. A total of about eight million tons of ore was won during the operation of the mine. Under the elevator tower is the main mine shaft which went straight down about 750 meters deep. Altogether there are 80 km of shafts into the mountain. A railway line operated between Litlabø and the quays at

Sagvåg Sagvåg is a village in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southwest coast of the island of Stord, about west of the town of Leirvik. The Stord Airport, Sørstokken lies about northwest of Sagvåg. ...

. During the

Nazi occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the World War II, Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the Norwegian Campaign, German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi G ...

, the mines delivered pyrite to Germany for use by the country's war industry. During 1941, this amounted to 9,000 tons per month. In January 1943 the mines were targeted by the

British Commando The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...

raid Operation Cartoon. Several dynamite charges were set off in various buildings at Litlabø. The hoist machine, the compressor house and the locomotive engine shed, among others, were blown up. The Mining Museum at Litlabø () was later established to commemorate the mines and the accompanying society.''Gruvemuseet på Litlabø. Til minne om Stordø Kisgruber'' (gruo.no)
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References

External links

Gruvemuseet på Litlabø website
Mining companies of Norway Companies based in Hordaland Stord Non-renewable resource companies established in 1907 Companies disestablished in 1968 1907 establishments in Norway 1968 disestablishments in Norway {{mining-company-stub