ABERTAMY URANIUM MINES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002800580004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: June 14, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

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1
CENTRAL INTELLI EN
Approved For Release 2001/11/ 3: &A-WRY00457R0028a U,
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
OUNTRY Czechoslovakia
:SUBJECT Abertar4y Uranium Mines
25X1A
PLACE ^
ACQUI5X1 A
DATE OF INFO.
25X1X
CONFIDENTIAL
e4P
DATE DISTR. 14
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS. 1 Sketch
CUSTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
la The tom of Abertamy (K60) lies on a plafeau of 3000 metersa elevation.
Forests stretch from the village of Porn** to within approxir tely 500
meters of Aber taW, chile the town it so i f is surrounded by fields and
meadows. The road leading from Aberta! J to 3aehymov parses through the
dense forests of the Plesivec mountain region. Plosives Z Mountain it-
self, which is 1r427 maters high, lies southeast of Abertarry; good pho-
tographs of the region might be taken 'ror-n this teak. A valley, carved
out by a stall stream, stretches toward Marklin and Karlovy Vary. The
plateau rises gently toward the went. North of Abertany is the small
village of Hreb6ona (Hengstereben), which has been only 30 to 40 per-
cent occupied since-the expulsion of the Germans.
2. Abortai has a population of 1,000 to 1, 500, 20 to 30 rerce t of lb ich
I.-, still German. The rerainirkn inhabik;ants are new colonic from Slo-
vakia, repatriates from German Upper Silesia,asies, and volunteer
miners from Bohemia.
3. A sign, "Frontier Customs Belt", has been erected on the. southern ed
of Abertaryy township,. Strolling through the fields surrounding the town
is forbidden, Customs officials, security police, forestry personnel,
and even certain private individuals are authorized to use their fire-
arms against suspicious persons.
4. .Shaft l 'of the Abertaryr mines is the only one ',hich actually yields urani-
urm ore. A total of 70 miners in tuo shifts *rorks the mine without the aid
of mechanized equip nt, Pay is doled out according to irork accomplished;
some of the miners are prisoners. Comi)ressed air is pumped into the shafts
and i used partly to freshen the atmod:phoro. The shaft entrance is sur-
rounded by a barbed true fence and by three wooden, twelve-foot observation
towers manned by security police ?4th rachine guns and automatic rifles.
Good photographs might be taken of the entire compound from the last house
on the road to the main entrance.
.5 s Shaft I has been producing ore at a profitable rate only since October 194?
A figure of tvo to three cubic meters per column of four to five non has
been cited: this probably refers to doily yields. The three horizontal
tunnels of Shaft I reach a depth of 15 to 25 rioters. The catwalks are
CONFIDENTIAL
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CEUT21L IIITELLIGE, TC3 AGE1 CY
covered with motor and the miners are provided with rubber boots. Open-
flame carbide lamps are used in the pits.
The newlp-dug. reddish brown to golden orange ore lies on a wooden plat-
form in the immediate vicinity of the shaft entrance. Old dumps of excavated material lie to the southeast a? the barbed-wire enclosure. In-
side the fence are several wooden huts of German origin. The air aoum-
pressor is located between the administration building and the shaft spa
trances. Hear the administration building are a locksmith's shop, carpentry
workshops, and a fuel dump. The enclosure of Shaft.I has two entrances:
one for workers and the other adjoining one for vehicles. The vehicle
entrance is opposite the security polico station and opens on Marshal
Stalin Street. The four-ton trucks carrying the ore from the shaft come
from Jdchymov and return there every night. Abertany has only four trucks
of its own.
7. The activities of the Abertariy mines aro administered by the Jtchymov hear-
carters. The miners are well paid, and there is no indication that anyone,
excepting of course the prisoners, has been forced to work at Abertariy against
his will. Persons wishing to work in tae Abortamy mines must first report
at Achymov, Were they undergo physical examinations and a loyalty investi-
gation by the political authorities, who decide whether or not an applicant
is acceptable. Every miner has a spociol identity card with a photograph,
and this must be produced at the entrance to the compound.
8. Shaft IT is approximately six months all and is not yet being systematicall
worked. Test drillings are still under way. The shaft has been dug beside
the road to Pernik, between the mechanical workshop of Joseph Mach and the
Abertamy boarding school. The shaft has been opened beside a house. Some
five to six meters behind the house the soil falls off steeply to a depth
of 10 to 15 meters and this artificial depression stretches for some 50 to
70 meters along the road. The shaft enmloyys some 20 z: nu mainly prisoners,
Work is supervised by Russian engineers who employ a special detecting
apparatue,a
9. Shaft III lies along the road to Jachynov, between the Zenker factory and
the bridge. The underground shafts are horizontal and probably subject to
seepage, since miners have been observed wearinry rubber boots. The entrance
to the rit is surrounded by an ordinary fence; the shafts extend under the
road. The main tunnel is 1.5 meters high and two meters wide; some six
secondary tunnels extend from the main one. Large boulders are frequently
encountered and blasting is often necessary. The supply of dynamite is
strictly controlled, and each explosior must be registered and rerortod,
1.0. Shaft IV is the most recent one and stretches westwards under a young
orchard between the bridge and stops acme 250 * eters ..hurt of the Abertaamy
swimming pool. Some 20 men, all prisoners, are employed In the excavation
o" the ore, which is yellow in color. The shaft lies 15 meters higher than
Shaft III and is free of water.
U. One more shaft lies in the forest alone the road to Jachyrlov, some 2J to 3
kilometers from Abertamy,
CONFIDENTIAL
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 Approved For ReleasiQ0N11tQ~RiT'Ri3P82-00457R002800580004-8
C TUTRA.L INTELLIGE+TCE AGENCY
12. The chairman of the Abertargy political organization is one Miska., a
lukevarm Cor ^uniet. The secretary is Zeman,, a confirmed Party activist.
Other nembors of the town co; iittee are Frantisek Scan and Kouzak. The
latter is not a real Communist.
13. The Abertarr ST1B office occupies a threes story building on Marshal Stalin
street. An SNB major is in command of the 800 (sic) men -:rho guard the
shafts and the prisoners.
th7an of Ahear
1, II9 III., and IV are the designated mine shafts.
1. S M office la. Post office lb. Church
2. Abartany Cornnunist Committee headquarters
3. School
4, Prison cep
5. Loather glove factory (B. Zenker)
6. Tannery
rye Boarding school
8. Mach mechancial workshor
9. Gymna siurP
10. Main square
no ?:rorkers' canteen
3,2. Cinema and bar
13. Hotel Praha
1l,, Motor workshop
15. Playgrounds
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CQNFIDENTIA!
Approved For Release 2001/11/23 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002800580004-8