(source: Geoclub Banská Štiavnica)
Visitors to Banská Štiavnica, a historic mining town, can experience first hand the difficulty of the mining work. The geoclub in the Štiavnické vrchy mountains allows guests of its geological-mineralogical excursions to search for minerals at the entrance to the surface quartz mine, My Žiar wrote.
“We have permission from the mining office to provide mineralogical excursions. Our services are used mainly by schools in May and June or individual visitors during the summer,” said guide Loránt Vojček, as quoted by My Žiar.
The excursion would be enjoyed by those who are interested in the process of mining from geological research to find valuable veins, through to identification of quality and explosive work to processing the extracted material. Visitors can also see explosive storage, though empty, and individuals can pick minerals, My Žiar reported.
“If our visitors fulfil the safety rules, we also take them underground where they can see how material is mined. The hole is about 150 – 200 metres deep, visitors can collect minerals and they will get to know something about Štiavnické vrchy, history and mining activities,” explains Vojček, as cited by My Žiar.
