In the vicinity of Horní Blatná, a number of tin and iron mines operated from the 16th to the early 20th century, the most important being those located on the Blatenský vrch (hill) and near the former Bludná settlement.
On the Blatenský vrch (hill) extensive remains of tin mining from the 16th to the 18th century have been preserved which are collectively referred to as Vlčí jámy (Wolf’s pit). These exceptionally well-preserved opencast mines represent one of the most illustrative and most important evidence of historical tin ore mining in the Ore Mountains. The entire set consists of the actual Vlčí jáma (Wolf’s pit) and the nearby Ledová jáma (Ice pit). Vlčí jáma is 120 m long, 20 m deep and sometimes up to 15 m wide. It was formed as a result of the both near-surface and underground exhaustion of the steep Wolfgang vein which penetrates the surrounding granites. Remains of old adits and stopes are still clearly visible on the sides of the mine. The higher situated Ledová jáma pit was formed by the workings in the Georg greisen vein. It is also about 20 m deep, but much narrower and consequently, because of the negligible circulation of air, snow and ice do not melt there throughout the year. Ice from the Ice pit served in the treatment of soldiers wounded in 1813 during the battle with Napoleon at Leipzig.
Below the Blatenský vrch hill, to the north of the town of Horní Blatná, extensive tin placers have been preserved which document the extraction of cassiterite from stream and slope sediments with an exceptional thickness of up to 8 m.
