Großer Graben (open pit)
The Great digging is a 1582 first mentioned iron ore - open pit on the plateau between Elbingerode (resin) and Rübeland .
geology
The Großer Graben iron ore deposit is part of the Elbingeröder complex , a volcanically bound massive sulphide deposit (VHMS). The Elbingeröder complex was formed between Untereifel and Klum when a series of volcanic rocks called scarf stone was deposited in a sea trough , which is divided into the lower, middle and upper main groups. There were several volcanic phases between which limestone reefs formed. Later this complex sank further and was covered by the sediments of the area. In the variscus the complex was heavily folded and then subjected to fracture tectonic stress several times.
The ores of the Great Trench are of hydrothermal origin and are deposited on the keratophyr cone. It is fine-grained pebbles, which are about 20 m thick . Originally the deposit wore an iron hat , a layer of limonitic iron ore that was the target of medieval mining. This brown iron was created by the weathering of the upper area of the eroding massive sulphide deposit.
Mining
By the middle of the 19th century, these mining activities reached a depth of around 40–50 meters. The previously natural drainage was no longer possible at this depth, so the water was pumped out with hand pumps. Various tunnels were driven to dissolve the water and civil engineering was started . In 1925 the entire mining industry in Elbingen came to a standstill due to inefficiency.
Todays situation
Today the pinge is overgrown with trees and secured at the edges. A lookout point on the western edge of Pingen allows visitors a look into the depths. There is also a Dennert fir tree there . The upper part of the Elbingerode mine was located next to the pinge. The visitor mine Drei Kronen & Ehrt is located below the Pinge in the valley of the Mühlbach .
Web links
- The crevice and chute calcites of the VHMS deposit Elbingeröder complex near Elbingerode in the Harz / Saxony Anhalt in Germany. Retrieved February 8, 2012 .
- Klaus Stedingk: The potential of ores and spades in Saxony-Anhalt. (PDF 4.82 MB) In: Communications on the geology and mining of Saxony-Anhalt, supplement 5 (2002) Raw materials report 2002: Distribution, extraction and safeguarding of mineral raw materials in Saxony-Anhalt. LAGB, 2002, accessed March 21, 2010 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 44.6 " N , 10 ° 49 ′ 33" E