The remains of mining (Upadowa Grodziec and heaps) are located about 200 meters northeast of the historic palace in Grodziec. A small quarry of Zechstein limestones is also located about 500 meters south of the Upadowa Grodziec area.
The former copper mine in Grodziec is located within the geological unit referred to as the North Sudetic Synclinorium, in the eastern part of the smaller tectonic unit known as the Grodziec Syncline. The North Sudetic Synclinorium is composed of sedimentary rocks from the late Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods. These, along with volcanic formations from the upper Carboniferous and lower Permian, constitute the so-called upper (non-metamorphosed) Kaczawa unit.
The subject of mining interest in the Grodziec area was mineralization, which occurs in formations classified as Zechstein (Upper Permian). These formations are the result of a late Permian (approximately 257.2 million years ago) marine transgression. In the shallow bay of the epicontinental sea, in the North Sudetic region, the sedimentation of carbonate formations took place: limestones, calcareous mudstones, as well as dolomites. Due to the mineralization with copper compounds, these rocks were exploited in the North Sudetic synclinorium until the late 1960s, in the area of the so-called Old Copper Basin (copper mines Konrad near Bolesławiec and Lena and Nowy Kościół near Złotoryja).
In the vicinity of Grodziec, there are remains of copper ore mining found in the lower Cechszyn limestone formations—copper-bearing marls and lead-bearing marls. The most prominent features in the topography are the remnants of underground mining. In 1949, tunneling began in Grodziec to the northeast of the historic palace. Two dip roads (A and B) were excavated here, followed by the construction of two additional adits (C and D), located approximately 250 meters to the north. The tunnels were excavated with the intention of wall exploitation. The extracted material was transported by narrow-gauge railway through Olszanica Osiedle to the ore enrichment plant in Iwiny.
In 1960, the mine was connected to the “K-II” dip road, from which a passage led to “K-I.” Mining operations continued until 1963. 39.2 thousand tons of copper ore were extracted from Upadowa Grodziec. Currently, only the casing and bricked-in entrance of the shaft remain at Upadowa Grodziec, along with small spoil heaps located nearby.
