Ashio mine

Japanese: 足尾鉱山 - あしおこうざん

Located in Ashio-cho, Kamitsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture, at the source of the Watarase River, this is one of Japan's leading copper mines since the Edo period. The mining rights are held by Furukawa Mining (now Furukawa Co., Ltd.), and this is the birthplace of the Furukawa Group. The deposits are associated with the Ashio rhyolite that erupted through the sandstone, slate, and chert of the Chichibu Palaeozoic Formation that makes up the Ashio Mountains, and produce a variety of ores, mainly copper. The mine consists of 1,800 ore veins centered on Bizen Tateyama, which is 1,273 meters above sea level, and over 130 massive and pocket-shaped ore bodies called Kajika deposits in the surrounding area, mainly contained in the Palaeozoic strata.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

渡良瀬川の源流地帯，栃木県上都賀郡足尾町にある江戸時代以来の日本の代表的銅山。鉱業権者は古河鉱業(現，古河機械金属)で，古河グループ発祥の地である。鉱床は，足尾山地を構成する秩父古生層の砂岩，粘板岩およびチャートを貫いて噴出した足尾流紋岩に伴うもので，銅を主とする多鉱種の鉱石を産する。標高1273mの備前楯山（びぜんだてやま）を中心とした1800本もの鉱脈と，その周辺部の，おもに古生層中に胚胎する130余の河鹿（かじか）鉱床と呼ばれる塊状，ポケット状の鉱体からなる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Ashio Mine Riot

>>: Ashio [town] - Ashio