Bergtatt Marble Mine

This is the final excursion aboard MS Spitsbergen. Tomorrow the ship arrives in Bergen and we move on. A message from our BnB host tells us that our next apartment is an easy ten minute walk from the Hurtigruten Terminal.

We left the ship at Kristiansand took a bus down the coast and along the Atlantic Road.

On The Atlantic Road we found a poignant memorial.

A rough mining road took us into the mountain where we were equipped with helmets and lifejackets. The tunnels through which we were to travel are no longer mined and they are partially flooded. We travelled by motorized raft.

The patterns in the rock walls were gorgeous. The water was perfectly clear and strikingly blue.

It looks like a swim raft and we were invited to go for a swim. The water temperature is five degrees celsius.

In an alcove we found a spotlit marble statue.

The tunnels seem to go on and on.

We stopped for a glass of water under marble chandeliers.

In the "Concert Hall. we sat to dine on a very hearty soup.

A Display case contained mining lamps, pictures and memorials.

The bar was fully stocked but we did not take advantage.

As we enjoyed our soup, a film showed a recent concert which had been held here (an Elvis Tribute).

After soup we watched a film to learn how the marble was mined. I was surprised to learn that this pure white marble was not harvested in slabs for decoration. Instead it was ground and treated to turn it into a white liquid. This "liquid marble" was sold to the paper industry and used as a coating for high quality glossy papers.

Because the paper industry is declining, the production at this mine is also declining dramatically. As a backstop, this mine is attempting to promote itself as a perfect site for high-tech data storage. Electricity is cheap and natural cooling solutions are at hand. Unused mining tunnels may be a safe location for data storage from around the world.