In the mid-1750s, copper ore deposits were discovered at the site where the Fredriksberg mines are now located, about 50 kilometers north of Växjö. In addition to copper, pyrite containing 0.185% silver and 0.006% gold was also found, which meant that copper from the site was considered to be of high quality. The site was acquired in 1763–1764 and mining operations began in 1765. Initially, this consisted of six local workers who did not have much knowledge of mining, but in 1768, four experienced miners from Falun and two Germans from Saxony who were experts in local work were hired. The total workforce was then 30 people.

The ore that was mined was transported for processing to Eksjöhovgård, a few kilometers northwest of the mine. In addition to the Fredriksberg mines, the Eksjöhovgårdsbolaget also owned shares in the Ingmälånga iron mine, Hökhult, Kleva and Nackerström. However, the most important mine in the area was Fredriksberg.

The Fredriksberg mines consist of the Borrbänksgruvan, the Långgruvan, the Lagggruvan (Lagg mine) and the Mossgruvan. The Mossgruvan, which was built last among these, is located in Björcke bog on the Fredriksbergsfältet.

To make it easier to extract the ore from the mines, a horse-drawn wind farm was built in the early 1770s. A pump station, ore and coal sheds, a forge, stables, a miners’ cottage for workers and a home for the bookkeeper were also built on the site.

As for the profit from mining in the area, it was not particularly large. Because it was difficult to get the ore out of the mines and the costs of transport to the smelter for processing and problems with pumping out the mines, the good years at the beginning of the 19th century were when the operation was closed down.

In 1857, operations resumed, but only in the Moss mine. This mine is 40 m long and 15 m wide at the surface. The depth was 60 m in 1864 (but is now said to be 120 m). At this time, operations were also expanded with three new locations, Sparre, Westermot and Ekenstam locations. Sparve was gradually expanded from a location to a larger room located in the northwestern part of the Moss mine. There is also a 25 m long location that ends in a wider space and leads west to the Lagg mine. The previous problem of keeping the mines afloat was now solved when, instead of horses, a 10 hp wood-fired steam engine was used to streamline the lifting of rock and water from the mine. These hp were more than enough to keep the Moss mine afloat, which only required that just under 6 m3 be drained per hour.

In 1862, 12 men worked in two shifts in the mine, but lack of capital meant that mining was quickly shut down again. In 1903, a new attempt was made and in 1917–1918, a last desperate attempt was made to resume operations but was abandoned. Of the total amount of ore taken up from the mines, it is estimated that about 17% was ore, and this in turn contained about 2–4% copper.