Knaben is a former mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 community in the northern part of Kvinesdal

Kvinesdal

Kvinesdal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.Kvinesdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Feda was separated from Kvinesdal on 1 January 1900 but again merged with Kvinesdal on 1 January 1963. Fjotland was also merged with Kvinesdal on that date...

 municipality, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, and currently a popular ski resort

Ski resort

A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...

. The settlement lies about 630 metres above sea level. The molybdenum

Molybdenum

Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...

 mines were operated from 1885 to 1973. Buildings and constructions are still partly intact. The workers' living houses are now used as tourist lodgings.

Nature

The Knaben uplands (Knabeheiene) are mainly between 750 and 850 metres. The area has a rich bird-life and animal life, with elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

, reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

, black grouse

Black Grouse

The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...

, lagopus

Lagopus

Lagopus is a small genus of birds in the grouse subfamily. It contains three existing species.-Species:* Willow Ptarmigan or Willow Grouse, Lagopus lagopus* Rock Ptarmigan , Lagopus muta...

, falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

 and eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

.

Mining activity

Occurrence of molybdenite

Molybdenite

Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide, MoS2. Similar in appearance and feel to graphite, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure. The atomic structure consists of a sheet of molybdenum atoms sandwiched between sheets of sulfur atoms...

 was the basis for the mining activities at Knaben. In 1897 it was determined that tempering

Tempering

Tempering is a heat treatment technique for metals, alloys and glass. In steels, tempering is done to "toughen" the metal by transforming brittle martensite or bainite into a combination of ferrite and cementite or sometimes Tempered martensite...

 of steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 with molybdenum resulted in an alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

 with qualities favourable for weapon production. In 1902, the mining rights of the area were bought for 6,000 kroner, and subsequently sold to an English company in 1904 for 250,000 kroner. Due to low molybdenum prices the mining operations ceased in 1909. World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 led to an uprise at Knaben. At its height ten different mining companies had operations in the area, but all operations ceased when the war was over. The Swedish company Avesta Järnverks AB took over from A/S Knaben Molybdængruber, and the production increased through the 1930s, with about 400 mine workers and a total population at Knaben of about 700.

Second World War

At the time Norway was invaded

Operation Weserübung

Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...

 in 1940, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Knaben mines were the only molybdenum mines in Europe still in operation. The occupying German forces

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...

 stationed about 1,000 men in the area, and established gun sites for anti-aircraft guns. The mine operations were the target for allied bombing twice in 1943. The first attack took place on 3 March, with 10 British de Havilland Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

 strike fighter

Strike fighter

In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers...

s participating. The second attack was on 16 November, when 130 American B-17 bombers from the Eighth Air Force

Eighth Air Force

The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

 (in its mission number 131) attacked the Knaben molybdenum mines in a raid against Norway.

Post-war

The first school at Knaben was built in 1954. In 1973 the mining company announced it would cease operations. The mines were finally closed April 30, 1973, and the settlement was more or less abandoned. A museum, Knaben Gruvemuseum has been established in the old administration building, and is run by Knabens Venner and Kvinesdal municipality. Norsk Bergverksmuseum is running a pilot project at the Knaben mining community.

A large sand deposit in the valley is a visible result from 88 years of mining activity. The percentage of molybdenum

Molybdenum

Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...

 was low, on average below 0.2%. The sand deposits cause some leaching of metals (cadmium, copper and molybdenum), and flotation

Flotation

Flotation involves phenomena related to the relative buoyancy of objects. The term may refer to:* Flotation, any material added to the hull of a watercraft to keep the hull afloat...

 chemicals into the river Kvina.

Today tourism is the main activity at Knaben. There is an alpine ski resort in operation, and several mountain cabin

Cottage

__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...

 resorts. The ski resort operates three different piste

Piste

A piste is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. The term is European, from the French for trail or track, synonymous with trail, slope, or groomed run in North America....

s of around 1,000m (3,280ft) each, with an elevation of 182m (597ft).