BRATRSTVÍ MINE IN JÁCHYMOV
Introduction
The first mention of the mine in the town chronicle dates from 1540, when it was established under the name Sächsischer Edelleutstollen (Adit of the Saxon Noblemen). One of its notable features is the Zdař Bůh shaft, about 375 metres deep, which does not open directly to the surface but ends in an excavated underground chamber, making it a so-called blind shaft. The extracted material was transported to the surface through a roughly 385-metre-long adit. The mining field covered about 9.8 km² and the total length of adits and crosscuts reached approximately 80 kilometres.
History
After the silver deposits were exhausted, other metals such as cobalt were mined here. From the 19th century, uranium was extracted, initially for uranium paints and later also for radium production. On 2 July 1945 the mine was renamed Bratrství in honour of the Paris Commune.
The mine was electrified as early as 1917, enabling a major reconstruction in 1922. At that time a new service adit to the Zdař Bůh shaft was driven and an electric hoisting machine installed.
During the uranium mining era in the Jáchymov region, a Central Camp with the code name M was established at the mine on 21 February 1950 and operated until 12 June 1954. Of the camp buildings, only the reinforced concrete structure of the showers has survived. The site of the former camp is now occupied by the recreational facility Pod lanovkou.
Repository
Today the mine serves as a repository for radioactive material. The Bratrství repository has been in operation since 1974, when spaces around the access adit with a total volume of about 1200 m³ were adapted for storing certain types of radiation sources from medical and research use. The facility consists of the access adit converted into a service corridor and five storage chambers.
The walls and ceilings of the chambers were reinforced with concrete and additionally secured with steel beams. The floors contain a drainage system with a central retention sump. Artificial ventilation is used only when personnel are present; otherwise the mine is ventilated naturally. Airflow changes with the seasons—during summer air flows into the mine, while in winter it flows out. The internal temperature remains stable at around 10 °C throughout the year.
The repository stores institutional radioactive waste containing mainly naturally occurring radionuclides and representing only a small proportion of the radioactive waste produced in the Czech Republic. On average, about 30 waste packages are stored here each year. The material is placed in layers so that inspection remains possible and access to other workings and technical equipment is maintained.
Each package consists of a 100-litre drum containing the radioactive material placed inside a larger 200-litre zinc-coated drum with anti-corrosion protection. The gap between them is filled with a roughly five-centimetre layer of concrete. Every package is labelled and documented, including information about the origin and type of material, the storage date and the weight.
Since 2001 the repository has been operated by the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO).
Technical notes
The original part of the mine is now drained through the Bock adit. Its Renaissance portal, once located behind today’s post office, was destroyed during the construction of an apartment building. It was at this adit that mechanical ventilation of a mine was introduced for the first time in the world in the mid-16th century, representing a significant technological advance of the period.
Photo gallery: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov_-_Dul_Bratrstvi/
Photos from SÚRAO: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_Dul_Bratrstvi_-_SURAO/
More photos: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_Dul_Bratrstvi/
