Crystal collecting in Trepça, Kosovo

Setting off from Skopje, Macedonia towards Mitrovica in Kosovo the border crossing was not far away in the mountains. After another thorough check I was allowed to cross and drive down into Kosovo.

I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and modern the country was, as well as the state the road was in. After a calm drive I made it to Mitrovica, arriving early and checking into the hotel, waiting for the others of our group to arrive. There was a language barrier to check-in, but after calling a local that spoke English I was able to check in and get to my room.

In the evening the others came and we went for a walk through the city, doing some site-seeing, going for some nice food in the evening in a local restaurant. The restaurant had a really cool and eclectic interior;

After a night’s sleep we met our guide and set off to the Trepça mining complex. After a short wait we were welcomed inside, meeting some of the administration. Afterwards we were led into the changing rooms and got dressed. They led us through the buildings and towards the entrance of the mine. After a short wait we were allowed inside and took the mining elevator 800m down to the bottom of the mine.

After a 5 minute long elevator ride we arrived at level 11, the currently lowest level of the mine. Immediately you could feel a certain warmth in the mine, much warmer than at the surface. After a short wait in the miner’s shack we were given some information and details about the current operations.

After that we went into the tunnels, as we went further into the mine, there was a small amount of water on the floor, being guided to a pump room where it would be pumped to the surface. There were also drainage pipes in the walls, to remove excess natural water; this water was hot, like steaming shower hot.

As we continued walked the temperature kept rising until we came to area 151 were we did some initial collecting. Finding some pyrite and calcite crystals. The miners where also kind enough to give us some specimens they found themselves.

After another walk through the tunnels we made it to area 158, where we did some more collecting, finding some really nice quartz crystals. What was surprising about the mine is how quiet it was. As soon as you walk away from a busy area, all the sound was immediately muffled and it went dead quiet. This combined with how dark it was, made me realize this is quite an alien place and how easy it would be to get lost in this place. The tunnels went all over the place, chasing the ore veins, up and down, left and right through the rock. There was no real rime or reason to the tunnels.

After collecting some really nice specimens it was time to go back up and head for the surface. Another wait at the little miner’s shack and an elevator ride later we were back at the surface.

After changing back into our clothes we headed back to the city for a quick clean-up. We headed into the city to have a drink and some food. After that we went to the shop of our guide. A small place with rocks and crystals everywhere; on shelves, in boxes and even just on the ground. After having looked around for a while we bought some crystals. In the evening we went for a meal with our guide, having a nice meal with the whole group as the others had arrived by now.

After this dinner we went back to the hotel the next day we went back to the mine for a second trip. However once there we learned that the elevator had broken the day before shortly after we left and they were still in the process of repairing it. So we weren’t able to go down at this time. I stead we went to visit the on-site museum they had with all the specimens they had found there. After that we went to the open-pit part of the mine, where the mine had it’s origins and we’re looking in the materials that could be found there. Finding some small crystals. After that we went up the hill to get some panoramic shots and views; finding there some more crystals.

After that we got the news we would be allowed back in the mine in the afternoon after the mine inspectors had left. However this would give us problems with the reservation of the hotel in Macedonia. So we decided to split the group and some us who had already gone down the mine would head over the Macedonia to confirm the reservation while the others visited the mine. And as such I drove my car with two others of the group in my car back to Macedonia across the border and to the hotel.