Minera Skifer is Scandinavia’s leading slate producer with production in Oppdal and Offerdal. Our story goes back hundreds of years and today we produce slate of all sizes and finishes for private and public projects from our main office in Oppdal.

All production and processing is done by local stonemasons in our production facility close by the slate quarries.

Commercial slate production in Norway began in the mid-19th century, with industrial scale production beginning exactly 100 years ago in connection with the opening of the Dovre train line in 1921.

However, the use of slate as a building stone began as early as the 15th century.

In those days, it was largely limited to local needs and with horses as the only means of transport inland, it was limited how far heavy slate blocks could be transported.

The development of the railway opened up new and larger markets and laid the foundation for its current popularity.

Slate was created by sediments of sand, clay and gravel sinking towards the seabed several hundred million years ago. They were then squeezed together in layers under high pressure and over millions of years, turned into shale rock in mountains.

The process of dividing and shaping slate is so detailed and sensitive that it is still impossible to fully replace it with robots and technology. 

Today, our stonemasons still use more or less the same tools and techniques as they did hundreds of years ago.

It’s an impressive process that amazes visitors and the impressive craftsmanship, long history and low carbon footprint also give the final product added value.