130 years of the Mořina quarry

In mid-September, the company LOMY MOŘINA s.r.o. celebrated 130 years of its foundation in a very spectacular way that involved a three-day rich program and attracted many visitors.

Brief excursion into history

Over the course of its 130-year history, the company has undergone many fundamental changes. In the beginning, mining took place deep underground and over the years, surface mining developed. Historically, limestone from quarries around Mořina was supplied to smelters in Kladno, for the food industry or was used for the production of coarse-grained and fine-grained plasters.

The oldest written document on the beginning of limestone mining in Mořina dates back to December 4, 1890, when Gottfried Bächer obtained a mining license, but the actual mining did not begin until 1891, the year which is considered the date of the quarry’s foundation. Seven years later, on April 3, 1898, Gottfried Bächer sold his license to the Prague Ironworks Company (Pražská železářská společnost), which had already owned the Kladno ironworks and other coal and iron ore mines. In 1900, it connected mining in the quarries in Mořina to the Kladno – Nučická railway, which thus reached its total length of 32.499 km. Until its nationalization, the company thus became one of the largest mining and metallurgical companies during the end of the Habsburg Monarchy and the First Republic.

Nationalization and reorganization

The Prague Iron Company was nationalized on October 28, 1945 and in 1946 it was renamed to Středočeské uhelné a železnorudné doly n.p., based in Kladno. In 1950, a new company Železnorudné doly, n.p. Nučice was created, which also included the Mořina quarries. At this time, the mining of iron ore in Nučice was gradually terminated, and in 1958 the company merged with Rudné a nerudné doly n.p. Ejpovice. Since this year, deep mining of limestone in Mořina gradually slowed down and moved to the Čeřinka u Bubovic deposit. In 1963, an overlying wall collapsed in the eastern part of the Velká Amerika quarry. Fortunately, no one was injured. Closure of the mining area was scheduled for December 31, 1964.

However, the reorganization of the company continues and as of January 1, 1977, the company is transferred as a separate plant under the national company Rudné doly Příbram. The main works in the Mořina area have shifted from mining and production of saturating limestones to construction and ancillary production (artificial paving, finely ground limestone and building aggregates).

Privatization

In 1993, the company was privatized in the form of a public tender, in which ČEZ a.s. acquired it. This company then decided to establish a new business company LOMY MOŘINA, spol. s r.o., in cooperation with Pragocement, a.s. (Later, through Českomoravský cement, a.s., it became part of the multinational Heidelberg Cement Group.)

Significant landscape features created by limestone mining in the past – the mined quarries Malá and Velká Amerika and the Trestanecký lom, are also under the management of the company.

Program of the festive event

The rich three-day program attracted many visitors of all age. Underground tours, expositions of trucks, rail cars SD – Kolejová doprava a.s., an annotated tour of the 810 series motor-coach train were prepared. The accompanying program was enriched by professional climbers, firefighters, members of the mining rescue service, production of music groups, exhibitions of historic cars and a ceremonial performance of the famous Sergey 781,592 locomotive. Visitors could use the Nučice – LOMY MOŘINA shuttle service in the 810 series motor-coach train and the adventure train from Kladno – Smíchov – Mořina and back. The event was a great success and the visitors left home full of impressions and knowledge of what mining entails.

Source: Lomy a těžba