EXPLOATĂRILE MINIERE DE LA DORGOŞ, PĂTÂRŞ, MILOVA ŞI GLADNA ÎN SECOLUL AL XVIII-LEA
MINING AT DORGOȘ, PĂTÂRȘ, MILOVA AND GLADNA IN THE 18TH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: The most important mining hubs for copper silver and lead in the montanistic Banat during the 18th century were at Oravița, Dognecea, Sasca and Moldova. As a consequence of mining prospections initiated by the Banatic Mining Direction on the orders of the Court Chamber for Mint and Mining outside the montanistic area, at Căvăran (nearby Caransebeș) was discovered a copper deposit, the ore being melt between 1765 and 1770 at a small local foundry to the complete exhaustion of the deposit. In the ‘740 copperore was exploited at surface in Dorgoș, 14 km (8 miles) souht-east of Lipova, and melted in a small foundry with no significance. E. g. in the whole year 1743 the Dorgoș foundry producesd only 57 centenials 33 ½ pounds of commercial copper (1 centenial = 56,006 kg.). At the same time, in the nearby Pătârș was discovered a larger copper deposit, exploited at surface and by mineshafts and galleries. 1781 started the copper mining at Milova, 10 km (6,5 miles) east of Lipova, on the right bank of the Mureș river. 1783 at Pătârș were working 5 mines, while at Milova their number reached 23. The crew of this 28 mines consisted in 44 workers (later on, in 1799, in 55 workers: 43 Romanians and 16 Germans) and two mine carpenters. The copperore was melted by a team of 10 workers at the small foundry in Milova. As a consequence of the low efficiency of the mines at Pătârș and Milova (the value of one mineshare/Kuxe was usually of one to two florins), the mineholders were forced to invest extramoney, the so called Zubuss. In spite of the poor gains, the mining at Pătârș and Milova continued even in the first decades of the 19th century. The discovery of a large vein of silverore mixed with lead at Gladna (on the north- western bottom of the Poiana Ruscă Mountains) was decisive to open here 1774 a mine with a crew of 34 miners and two minecarpenters. Till 1783, when a small foundry was built at Gladna, the extracted ore was transported to Certeje (nearby Hunedoara) in order to be melt. The production at the Gladna foundry was poor enough: e. g. during 15 years (1784-1799) here were melted 144 centenials 49 ½ pounds of copper, 377 centenials 8 ½ pounds of lead, 1036 marks 20 lotons 4 quent 3 3/8 denars of silver and 8 marks 22 lotons 6 quent 2/8 denars of gold (1 mark = 233,947 grams; 1 loton = 17,54 grams; 1 quent = 4,38 grams). Mining and melting continued at Gladna even in the first decades of the 19th century.

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