ABSTRACT: Hydrographs of mine waters discharging from 20 adits, excavated in the past centuries in crystalline, metamorphic and volcanic hard rocks of Slovakia were analysed and master recession curves were assembled. Following flow component analyses revealed dominance of exponential shapes of recession curves over the linear ones. Gravitational drainage of mine works with typical interconnection of adits and shafts resembles groundwater circulation in karstified rocks with typical flow concentration. Master recession curves of 10 typical karstic springs were used for comparison with mine works. Selected karstic springs were located under the edges of karstic plateaus built by Middle and Upper Triassic carbonates of the Slovenský Kras and Muránska planina Mts. Contrary to the mine drains, both linear and exponential shapes of recession curves were found by flow component analyses of karstic springs, with the quantitative dominance of linear flow components (turbulent sub-regime) volumes. The linear flow components in karst springs could be perhaps related to better groundwater drainage from the epikarst due to the better vertical water communication in the karst environment. In the case of nonkarstic rocks, the vertical connection between the unsaturated zone / the zone of subsurface loosening of the rock mass is much narrower, which results in lower volumes of linear flow components in the outflows of the mine drainages.