The mining town of Jáchymov (formerly Joachimsthal) is situated in a deep valley 650 – 750m above sea level in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) of West Bohemia. The town lies at the heart of one of the most important ore-fields in Central Europe and is surrounded by mountains containing rich polymetallic deposits of five-element composition (Ag-Co-Ni-Bi-U) on an area of ca. 45 km2 (Veselý 1986). Silver was discovered in the valley at the beginning of the 16th century and this led to short-lived but intense mining rush. Shortly afterward the discovery of silver the valley was acquired by the influential Šlik (Schlik) family, German burghers from the town of Cheb (Eger), who had been ennobled in the 15th century and thereafter increased their wealth by gaining a series of estates in West Bohemia. In an effort to maximise their income from the newly-discovered silver deposits the Šliks invited mining investors (kverks) to provide development capital, and established a mining association which drew upon the knowledge and expertise of leading miners from the whole of Europe. Large scale silver extraction started in 1516 and was enhanced by the presence of professional German miners who had travelled to the area from the mining centres of on the western side of the Ore Mountains in Saxony (esp. Annaberg, Freiberg, Marienberg and Schneeberg) where silver mining had a long tradition stretching back to the Middle Ages. The rapidly growing settlement of the “Sanctus Joachims Thal” (Valley of Saint Joachim) was provided with the rights of a free mining town in 1520, by King Ladislav of Bohemia (Majer 2004; Nemeškal 1964; Kořan 1967a, 9-12; Vorel 2003, 58-61). Direct experiences with mining and metallurgy in Joachimsthal in 1527-1531 influenced famous life-work of Georgius Agricola “De re metallica libri XII” published in Basel in 1556 (cf. e.g., Naumann 1994; Prescher 1994).