Potash works union Irmgard
| Potash works union Irmgard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
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| other names | Irmgard potash mine | ||
| Mining technology | Chamber construction | ||
| Information about the mining company | |||
| Operating company | Irmgard union | ||
| Employees | up to 300 (including the Walter union) | ||
| Start of operation | 1912 | ||
| End of operation | 1922 | ||
| Successor use | no | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | Carnallitite, hard salt and rock salt | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 51 ° 16 '40 " N , 11 ° 17' 35" E | ||
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| Location | Skin soda | ||
| local community | On the jewelry | ||
| District ( NUTS3 ) | Kyffhäuserkreis | ||
| country | Free State of Thuringia | ||
| Country | Germany | ||
| District | South Harz district | ||
The disused potash mine of the Irmgard union is located about 1.6 km northeast of Hauteroda , a district of the town of An der Schmücke in the Kyffhäuserkreis in Thuringia (see map below). Only about 225 m as the crow flies from the Irmgard shaft is the Walter shaft of the union of the same name . Both unions built on the southern edge of the Hohe Schrecke a gently undulating, mostly from konglomeratischem carnallite existing potash from. Although the two pits were mutually effective , for commercial reasons, 1 the legally independent “ Union Irmgard ” with its mine building from the archival material and statistical yearbooks currently available will be presented below.
The Irmgard shaft began to sink in 1911. At the end of 1912 it had reached its final depth of 405 m. The extraction of carnallite , hard salt and rock salt was made from 1913. The mining mining method was the room and pillar method. Promoted these raw materials were exclusively on bay Walter. The further processing of the salts took place in the factories of the " Heldrungen II trade union ". In 1924, the “ Union Irmgard ” mine was finally shut down in accordance with Section 83a of the Decommissioning Ordinance (for more information on the relevant legal provisions: see section “Shutting down the potash works”).
1 Of the 1000 Kuxscheine issued , only 51% were in the hands of the same trades . The remaining kuxe were scattered. The Zubußen the trades of both unions Irmgard and Walter were completely different; likewise the number of shares granted within the Kali syndicate . This financial and economic separation of the two potash mines is therefore also followed by the separate treatment of the two pits in Wikipedia.
Search and exploration work
In 1861, chemical factories in the Staßfurt area, which were described as “unclean”, succeeded in sinking the vd Heydt / v shafts, which were originally only sunk for the extraction of rock salt to enrich the weak brine of the Staßfurt salt works. Manteuffel to make carnallitic salts available for technical use. It had become possible to dissolve the potassium chloride (KCl) contained in these salts and ultimately to market it as a fertilizer in agriculture . And the discovery of these potash salts - the “Staßfurter Berggeschrey ” - encouraged Unstrut and Finne to search for such salt deposits .
The brine springs in the near and far, known and also partly used since time immemorial , suggested the presence of salts in the deeper subsurface. An industrialist named Emil Sauer 1 was initially involved in the search and exploration of potash deposits suitable for mining . With the establishment of the " Kalibohrgesellschaft Heldrungen " in 1897, he began extensive and ultimately successful geological exploratory drilling. A borehole, deep borehole VII, drilled northeast of Hauteroda in Dornbachtal, drilled from 355.24 m to 403.00 m depth of potash salts with a content of 23.82% to 26.98% potassium chlorine; Furthermore, from 396.01 m to 403.15 m and from 407.59 m to 413.00 m depth, high-percentage sylvinite with a content of up to 43% potassium chloride. This borehole lies between the starting points of the later sunk Irmgard and Walter shafts .
1 Emil Sauer from Berlin founded the Wilhelmshall trade union near Anderbeck in 1887, the Heldrungen potash drilling company in 1897 and subsequently the Heldrungen I and II, Walter and Irmgard unions, and later, in 1905, the Neuhof potash drilling company , which was established on December 1, 1905 by a notarial act in the Neuhof union was converted.
The geological and hydrogeological reservoir conditions
The mining area of union Irmgard located on the southwestern edge of the Heldrunger saddle. This strikes parallel to the Roßlebener Sattel , which is included in the northeastern part of the Hermandurian plaice.
The Irmgard shaft reached the Staßfurt potash seam at a depth of 356.9 m. The upper parts of this 38 m thick seam with storage almost at the bottom consist of hard salt with an average content of 21% potassium chloride (KCl).
Individual lots reached up to 30% KCl. The lying facies of the Staßfurt potash seam of 2 m thickness in the immediate vicinity of the shaft also consists of hard salt with an average potassium chloride content of 19.1%. The intermediate layer consists of carnallite with up to 18.4% KCl (compare the adjacent layer profile).
Hydrogeologically, the entire area of the potash shafts on the Unstrut and Finne is characterized by the strong water flow of the Buntsandstein , especially the Rogenstein zones of the Lower Buntsandstein. Inflows of up to 4 m³ / min when sinking the shafts were not uncommon.
The operation of the potash plant
The financial and business situation
Establishment: The " Union Irmgard " was only founded after 1910, after the southern part of the field of their rights was separated from the " Union Walter " and transferred to the Irmgard union . "Founding father" was, as u. a. also at the two neighboring trade unions Heldrungen I and II , the industrialist Emil Sauer from Berlin. With the establishment of the " Kalibohrgesellschaft Heldrungen " in 1897 , he had already made a name for himself in the search for and exploration of potash deposits suitable for mining. (see map on the right).
Number of Kuxe : 1,000 pieces, of which 251 pieces were owned by Deutsche Kaliwerke and 250 pieces were owned by the Hedwigsburg union based in Hedwigsburg in Lower Saxony before the transfer of ownership by the union to Kali-Industrie AG .
Potash indicator : Member since 1912. On November 1, 1912, the Irmgard union received a provisional participation quota of 3.06 thousandths, from January 1, 1925 a regular share of 3.6314 thousandths and finally from October 1, 1932 a participation rate of 3, 4132 thousandths of all works.
There used to be a community of interests and operations with Walter and Heldrungen. The administration of this community consisted of three members, of which each union appointed one - Heldrungen I and II were regarded as a unit. The member appointed by Heldrungen chaired the meeting. The aim of the contract was complete economic equality between the three unions. Each union contributed 1/3 of the profit and loss, but in order to create a balance corresponding to the economic situation of the three unions, Irmgard collected 1,000 M per Kux and Walter 500 M per Kux. This happened on October 1, 1921. According to the resolution of the trade union meeting on December 17, 1924, this joint venture was dissolved. [from: Mossner, 1936]
Two -shaft question : Cross-cutting connection with the shaft of the Walter union. The salts obtained in the Irmgardfelde are lifted to the surface in order to simplify the extraction in the Walterschacht. [from: Mossner, 1936]
Day facilities: Chew building with office, definitive carrier building , electric carrier. The electricity is obtained from the headquarters of the Heldrungen II trade union. In addition, via Heldrungen II overland connection to the overland plant in Bretleben. Processing of the salts on Heldrungen II. Pit connecting line of 3.5 km length. After the shutdown, the daytime facilities were used. [From: Mossner, 1936]
Here are some statistical figures from 1912 to 1914:
1912: Board of Directors : Emil Sauer in Berlin. Director: Franke in Oberheldrungen. Operations manager : Obersteiger Schulze. The shaft is being sunk. Day plants are set up. 1913 as in 1912: Furthermore: The shaft is expanded . The daytime facilities are set up. Railway connection: Via "Walter" to Heldrungen II. Electric power from Heldrungen II. Workforce: 100 men. 1914: Board of Directors: Emil Sauer in Berlin. Administration: Mine Director Bergassessor Dr. Lohmann in Oberheldrungen. Operations manager: Obersteiger Schulze. Finishing and fitting work. The daytime facilities are set up. Workforce: 100 men.
The shaft construction
Sinking of the Irmgard shaft began in 1911. At the end of 1912 this work was stopped when the final depth of 405 m had been reached. The shaft diameter is only four meters, as this shaft was designed from the outset as a so-called “police shaft” (this is a second exit of a shaft system required by mountain police regulations). After completion, the Irmgard mine was not used to convey the extracted salts, but only for weather control and rope travel .
The shaft was lined up to a depth of 60 m; from there to the final depth it is in tubbings . Height of the hanging lawn bench : + 225.84 m above sea level . Total depth : 405 m. 1. Sole : - 158.6 m above sea level (384 m level).
The distance to the Walter shaft is about 225 m as the crow flies .
Removal and installation, dismantling and relocation processes
The actual mining field is located north of the shaft in the right wing of the Walter union . Legitimate under mining law , there were formal contractual agreements between the trade unions Heldrungen I and II and Walter . On the first floor, referred to as the main floor in the crackwork, carnallite and probably hard salt were extracted in 6 mining chambers (No. 1 to 6). Detailed quantitative and qualitative information is not available. The lengths of the individual extraction locations were different and owed to the storage conditions of the Staßfurt potash seam. The longest mining chamber, mining no. 2 west, had a length of approx. 100 m with a width of approx. 10 m. Dismantling No. 2 in the east was almost 100 m long and already reached the eastern limit of the rights of the Walter union . The width of the safety pillars between the excavation chambers was 10 m; Information on the ridge height is missing.
To the west of this mining field - also at the level of the first level - there was a further mining field with mining no. 1a to 4a. According to the author, these are so-called mountain mills . They were used to extract rock salt, primarily as backfill material for the empty mining chambers in the used carnallite or hard salt. Since the secondary literature occasionally also writes about the " rock salt mine Walter ", it is also possible that clean, i.e. H. anhydrite-free portions of the rock salt were selectively extracted and promoted as industrial and table salt.
In the far north of the Irmgard mine field , two stroking stretches already passed through the marrow sheath to Gerechtsame Heldrungen I. When looking at the preserved cracks in this mine, it is noticeable that no horizontal boreholes for exploration of the deposit have been documented. And if you look at the extremely winding route in the southern part of the field, you come to the conclusion that no flat-drilling exploration work was carried out either. Such research work was very time-consuming and expensive. They certainly wanted to save these costs; It was more important that the mine was assigned a participation number and that the resulting sales volume of potash products could be easily made available.
As mentioned at the beginning, the pit fields of both unions, the Irmgard and Walter unions , actually form a unit. However, they are dealt with separately here for commercial and mining law reasons (details on the mine field of the " Walter Union " can be found in the Wikipedia article of the same name). Both shaft safety pillars also border the limits of the respective mountain fair (see map above). Nuancinal differences between these two shaft systems are, for example, the depth of the respective first levels (in the Walter shaft 376 m depth or - 153.7 m NN; in the Irmgard shaft 384 m depth or - 158.6 m NN). Furthermore, Schacht Walter was used exclusively for extraction, Schacht Irmgard, on the other hand, was the moving weather - and common driving shaft .
No information is available about the type and quantity of the backfill material introduced. The author of the article does not have any archive information on numerical values about the magnitude of the quantities of mined rock salt, which were used as backfill material for the mining chambers in the carnallitite or hard salt. Thus, the pit cavity that remained open at the time the mine was shut down cannot be precisely quantified. It is estimated - based on the preserved mine workings - the open pit cavity of both pits at the time of closure at around 125 Tm 3 . The extent to which later (as a result of drowning ) or still active (due to recent inflows) caused or still effect subrosive changes in the cavity configuration should not be assessed at this point.
Manufacturing processing
The extracted salts were transported by track to the factories of the " Heldrungen II trade union " and processed there. The table on the left shows some sales figures for the potash salts extracted in the Walter and Irmgard mining fields (in quintals (dz) K 2 O):
In 1922 the sales quota was assigned to other plants.
The closure of the plant
At the beginning of the 20th century, drilling activities in Germany to search for potash salt and hard coal experienced a real boom . In order to prevent the proliferation of new potash works (as well as coal mines) and thus overproduction, the Prussian state parliament decided at the request of MP Karl von Gamp-Massaunen u. a. the " Law, regarding the amendment of the General Mining Act of June 24, 1865/1892, of July 5, 1905 (GB, p. 265) ", so called Lex Gamp .
It initially led to a temporary ban on speculation of potash salts and hard coal for two years. This meant that only the state could acquire mining property. The latter was able to transfer it to third parties in the form of a time-limited real extraction right. The Lex Gamp was the beginning of further state interventions to avoid the formation of monopoly up to the regulation of prices and the overproduction caused by the excessive increase of potash mines. The latter was also served by the so-called decommissioning ordinance of October 22, 1921 (" Ordinance on the amendment of the regulations for the implementation of the law on regulating the potash industry of July 18, 1919", (Reichs-Gesetzbl, p. 663) ). In § 83a of this ordinance it says: “ A change in the conditions relevant for the assessment remains without influence until December 31, 1953 on the continuation and the amount of the participation figure of those plants which are voluntarily shut down up to this point in time. An irrevocable declaration to this effect must be submitted to the potash inspection office by April 1, 1923 (extended to December 31, 1926). Taking into account the economic circumstances, in particular the salt reserves, this determines the point in time by which the shutdown must be carried out; an extension of this period beyond April 1, 1924 is not permitted. A shutdown within the meaning of this paragraph requires that any extraction of usable minerals from the shutdown shaft ceases. Exceptions can only be granted by the Reich Minister of Economics after hearing the Reichskalirat and the potash testing office ”.
In 1924, the Potash Inspection Agency granted the Irmgard union, on its application for closure from the end of 1923, a participation rate of 67% of the average participation of all potash plants.
Condition of the mine after its closure
It is documented that the first damage to the shaft configuration occurred as early as December 1915. As a result of strong water inflows, the lowest 25 m of the shaft lining collapsed.
The investigations carried out in 1978 at the Irmgard shaft (see adjacent photos) a. the height of the water or solutions in the shaft at +172.59 m above sea level. The height of the plumbed shaft bottom is - 118.40 m above sea level. A rock sample of the bottom of the shaft taken from this depth showed: “Siltstone, red-brown, with isolated gray-green mudstone deposits, overall soft plastic, rollable (“ set back ”Lower Buntsandstein). In the Irmgard shaft, the inflow of water from the leaky shaft lining above the shaft water level could be heard. The order of magnitude could not be determined; but it has to be several minute liters. "[Pinzke, 1978]
The chemical analysis from a depth of 342.24 m at the in-situ temperature of + 21.5 degrees showed the following content of individual salts (all in g / l): CaSO 4 0.34; CaCl 2 62.40; MgCl 2 108.10; KCl 32.50; NaCl 71.80; Density 1.215 g / ml. In 1978 there were unsaturated solutions. In addition, there were other less mineralized solutions from red sandstone sections, so that a progressive saline dissolution in the shaft area could be assumed. The extent to which these processes are still active can only be clarified by new investigations.
After 1945 the mine was declared property of the people ; In 1953 it was taken over by VEB Kaliwerk " Heinrich Rau " Roßleben in legal ownership. With the issue of the GDR's safekeeping order of October 10, 1971 (GDR GBl. II No. 73), the Halle District Council was responsible for a large number of old potash pits, so-called “pits of old mining without legal successors ”; thus also for Schacht Irmgard. With the accession of the GDR to the scope of the Basic Law , these disused shafts were also regarded as " disused facilities of a mining operation for which a legal successor does not exist or can no longer be determined ".
Instead of the councils of the districts, the respective state governments acted until the relevant regulatory authority regulations were issued (" Thuringian law on ensuring public safety and order in objects of old mining and in underground cavities (Thuringian old mining and underground cavities law - ThürABbUHG " from 23. May 2001 (published in ThürGVBl No. 4 of May 31, 2001, p. 41) as amended by the " Amendment by the Thuringian Law on the Adaptation of Authorities in the Mining Administration of December 3, 2002 (GVBl p. 430, 431)) ) a.
Thus, up to now this decommissioned mine has been the responsibility of the Thuringian State Mining Office with regard to the duty of care for the purpose of averting danger (see also “ Guide to safekeeping day shafts ”). To ensure public safety , the shaft tube was covered in 1940/41 (see photos above). Compared to 1978, this shaft head protection showed further major weathering damage in 2010. The immediate access is secured against unauthorized entry by means of a chain link fence. Shaft Irmgard and other relics of earlier mining activities still require control and care.
Bibliography
- J. Mossner (Hrsg.): Handbook of the potash mines, salt pans and deep drilling companies . Finanz-Verlag, Berlin 1936.
- G. Pinzke: Expert opinion on the assessment of the mining and public safety of selected potash pits without legal successors on the territory of the Halle district. Expert opinion, Council of the District of Schwerin, Department of Geology 1979, archive of the LAGB Saxony-Anhalt.
- Yearbooks of the German lignite, hard coal and potash industries . Published by Wilhelm Knapp, Halle / Saale.
- Handbook of Potash Mines, Salt Pans and Deep Drilling Companies 1924–1925. Finanz-Verlag, Berlin.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eckart Frischmuth, Lothar Rudolph: Excursion in the catchment area of the Middle Saale with the tributaries Ilm and Unstrut.
- ↑ On the development of mining law in the western part of the Prussian state. In: rheinkamp.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015 .
- ^ Adolf Arndt: General mining law for the Prussian states . In: dlib-pr.mpier.mpg.de . 5th, verb. u. probably edition. Leipzig 1907, p. 284 ( mpg.de [accessed on January 12, 2015]).
- ^ Harm Peter Westermann: Property law. Hüthig Jehle Rehm, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8114-7810-7 , p. 76 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
- ^ Gerhard Leibholz: Yearbook of the Public Law of the Present. New episode. Mohr Siebeck, 1965, ISBN 3-16-615942-8 , p. 207 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
- ↑ Order on the safekeeping of underground mining facilities (safekeeping order). VerwAnO, date of issue: October 19, 1971 (PDF file)
- ↑ Thuringian law on the guarantee of public safety and order in objects of the old mining and in underground cavities (Thuringian old mining and underground cavities law - ThürABbUHG). ( Memento from April 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) from May 23, 2001 (PDF file)
- ↑ Guide for the safekeeping of day shafts in Thuringia. ( Memento from April 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) from August 8, 2008, In: tlba.de , (PDF file)
literature
- E. Loock: Disused shafts - a problem for the potash industry . (= Freiberg research books, series A. 136). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1960.
- J. Löffler: The potash and rock salt deposits of the Zechstein in the GDR. Part III: Saxony-Anhalt . (= Freiberg research books C. 97 / III). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1962.