Kopalnia Uranu Kletno

Kletno Uranium Mine - Podziemna Trasa Turystyczno-Edukacyjna w Starej Kopalni Uranu w Kletnie

Useful Information

Location:	Kletno 40, 57-550 Stronie Śląskie. 5 km south of Stronie Slaskie (Seitenberg). Niedźwiedzia Cave parking lot at the end of the road, 800 m/10 minutes walk to the mine entrane. (50.247932, 16.844549)
Open:	Buy tickets online for exact dates. All year daily 10-17. Closed Easter week, 01-NOV, 18-DEC to 25-DEC, 31-DEC, 01-JAN. [2022]
Fee:	Adults PLN 35, Children (3-16) PLN 25, Children (0-2) free, Students (-26) PLN 25, Disabled PLN 25. Groups (15+): Adults PLN 32, Children (3-16) PLN 22, Students (-26) PLN 22, Disabled PLN 22. [2022]
Classification:	Uranium Mine Iron Mine Silver Mine Copper Mine Fluorite Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=37,000 m, VR=280 m, T=7 °C, A=773 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=200 m, D=45 min, Max=25. Audioguides
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Podziemna Trasa Turystyczno – Edukacyjna w Starej Kopalni Uranu w Kletnie, Kletno 40, Tel: +48-889-785-118, Tel: +48-601-889-243. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

mid 14th century	first mining activities.
16th century	first written mention of Jakuba Sztolni (James tunnel) and Mrocznej Sztolni (Mrocznej tunnel).
1948	uranium discovered, mine opened.
1953	uranium exhausted, flourspar (CaF₂) mining continued.
1958	mine closed.
2002	opened as a show mine.

Geology

There are different veins found in the area of this mine. The Zyla magnetytowa (magnetite vein) had a thickness of several centimeters up tp 2.5 m. It was the medieval ore.

The other veins are called mineralizacji polimetalicznej (polymetallic mineralization) and contained a mixture of some 30 minerals. This included flourspar, sulfites, selenites and secondary uranium minerals. The distribution of these veins was extremely irregular which made the mining difficult.

Description

The Kopalnia Uranu Kletno (Kletno Uranium Mine) has in Polish an enormous name: Podziemna Trasa Turystyczno-Edukacyjna w Starej Kopalni Uranu w Kletnie which translates about touristic and educational tour of the historic uranium mine Kopalina at Kletno. It is located in the same valley as the famous and popular Jaskinia Niedźwiedzia, and uses the same parking lot. The mine entrance is located in the middle of the forest in the opposite direction. It is reached on an 800 m walk, make sure you are 20 minutes earlier for your tour, 10 minutes for the walk and 10 minutes for checkin and preparations. On the trail to the mine is also a slag heap which is famous as a mineral collecting site.

The mining near Kletno started during the Middle Ages, when iron, silver and copper were mined. Flourspar and marble were mined too, later. But during the first half of the 20th century the mining boosted because of the Cold War, the polymetallic ores contain a certain amount of uranium, a pretty low amount if seen in absolute numbers, but because of the enormous importance of uranium of great value. It started soon after World War II, in 1948 an agreement between Poland and the USSR initiated a nation-wide search for uranium. In the same year an engineer from the Soviet Geological Service discovered uranium ore in Sankt Paul tunnel at Kletno. Uranium mining started.

During the heyday of the uranium mining 20 shafts connected 37 kilometers of tunnels on three levels. A total of 20 tonnes uranium ore were extracted. A total of 228,000 m³ of rocks was brought up from the mine and deposited on the slack heaps. The uranium mines were worked with modern technology, and so this tour actually shows the mining technology of the mid 20th century which is already based on the use of heavy machinery in a wide range. The tunnels are of rather comfortable size, especially compared to the claustrophobic, hand-dug, Medieval tunnels. The passage is 1.5 m to 2 m wide and 1.7 m to more than 2 m high.

The show mine of today is located at an scenic bend of the Klesnica River Valley, on the road from Kletno to Sienna, in a tunnel which was calledTunnel No. 18. It is also called Sztolni Fluorytowej (Flouride Drift). Some 200 m of the tunnel have been developed and there are numerous outcrops of minerals and ore, especially of fluoride, fluorspar, amethyst, quartz and others. The tunnel is located at an altitude of 773 m asl and is one of the highest parts of the mine. Actually the lower parts of the mine are flooded now, after the pumps were shut down.

The officials tell, that a visit to this mine includes the exposure to radiation. Of course there is some radiation caused by the various radioactive minerals. On the other side the amount of this natural radiation is very low, comparable to the radiation on very high altitudes, on a plane or on a mountain top. The amount of radiation for the length of the normal tour is actually absolutely harmless. For the miners, the daily work under this radiation was not good for their health, but it was probably the least problematic danger of the mining in comparison to lethal accidents, silicosis and poisonous gas from the explosives.