Kovohutě Příbram

We are a metallurgical plant. We recycle waste containing lead (especially lead batteries). We produce lead and its alloys, lead and tin products. We also process waste containing precious metals and waste electrical and electronic equipment decommissioned (WEEE), including lamps and light sources.

Mission

With an environmentally friendly service, we recover waste based on lead, precious metals or electrical equipment using the best available recycling technologies.

We are a traditional and reliable supplier of products and alloys based on lead, tin and precious metals. We strive for the permanent status of a recognized regional employer.

History

The metallurgical tradition of lead and silver production in the PÅ™íbram region dates back to ancient times and is shrouded in legends and mythical figures. The character of the heroic Horymír with Šemík impresses us with his charm, and especially the majestic Princess Libuše appears to us, prophesying fame to the BÅ™ezohorská hill. The oldest written source on ore mining and processing in the PÅ™íbram region is a document from 21 April 1311, through which the citizen of PÅ™íbram, Konrád, passed on to the Prague bishop Jan IV. The smelter he built with his sons at PÅ™íbram at his own expense.

Remains of lead slag with a mixture of silver have been preserved to the present day, behind the nearby Bohutín. The importance of production in this smelter and later in other smaller smelters in the vicinity of PÅ™íbram was overshadowed by the fame of silver mining in Havlíčkův Brod, Jihlava, Kutná Hora and later in Jáchymov. The fulfillment of Princess Libuše's mythical prophecy, which is mentioned by the chronicler Václav Hájek of Libočany in his Czech Chronicle (1541), did not occur until the 19th century, when PÅ™íbram's silver ore mining and metallurgy reached European to world importance.

During its existence, the PÅ™íbram smelters produced a total of 1,377 thousand tons of lead and 5,160 tons of silver from ores and waste from the end of the 13th century to the end of 2005. By the end of 1972, the smelters alone produced a total of 359 thousand tons of lead and 3,220 tons of silver from the PÅ™íbram ores alone.