Ani Mine

The Ani Mine (阿仁鉱山, Ani kōzan) is an abandoned mining complex of seven individual drift mines surrounding the former town of Ani, now part of the city of Kitaakita, Japan. Situated in the valley of the Ani River, the workings extend for several kilometres under the western slopes of Mount Moriyoshi.

The mine was a source of copper, silver, and gold.

A placer deposit of gold was discovered near Ani in 1309. It is unclear when mining operations began at Ani, with two different documents giving the years 1637 and 1670.^[2]

By the 18th century the Ani Mine was operated by the Akita Domain and accounted for almost half of Japan's national supply of copper.^[3] In 1764, the Tokugawa authorities attempted to nationalise the mine in order to secure a strategic reserve of copper. The Akita Domain reacted strongly, and after negotiations the confiscation order was revoked.^[3]

In 1773, the Akita Domain hired the engineers Hiraga Gennai and Yoshida Rihē to improve the smelting techniques used at Ani.^[4] Reportedly, the Ani miners got along well with the sincere Yoshida but disliked Hiraga's arrogant personality.

During the early Meiji period, a team of German mining engineers led by Adolf Metzger were hired by the Japanese government to renovate Ani Mine's smelting and logistics with European technology. In 1879, two buildings were constructed as official lodgings for the Germans. These were built in a simple Gothic architectural style using bricks fired from local clay and featured one of Japan's first billiard tables.

In the early 1880s, pneumatic rock drills were used in the stopes at Ani. Some of these drills were later transferred to the Ashio Copper Mine.^[1]

During the Great Depression, the Ani Mine temporarily ceased operation due to falling demand for copper. The mine closed again in 1970 due to depletion of the ore veins. After the discovery of new veins, an attempt was made to reopen the mine but this proved unprofitable and the mine was abandoned in 1986.

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