Silfurbergs náma

Helgustaðanáma, located in Helgustaða in Fjarðabyggð, is an ancient Icelandic spar mine that was declared a nature reserve in 1975. It is renowned as the world's most famous silver mine, where silver ore was extracted from the earth between the 17th and early 20th centuries. Silfurberg, known as Icelandic spar in English, is a natural wonder associated with Iceland in numerous languages.

Helgustaðanáma has been a prolific source of silfurberg specimens found in museums worldwide. It boasts some of the largest and most pristine Icelandic crystals ever discovered. Icelandic spar primarily consists of exceptionally clear calcite crystals and played a pivotal role in advancing scientific research on light properties. This mine yielded groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of physics, chemistry, and geology during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the extraction of Icelandic spar from Helgustaðanáma has significantly declined in recent years due to its protected status, with strict bans on further mining activities.