Show mine

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Truck tour in the Merkers mine

A show mine or visitor mine is a disused mine intended for inspection as part of organized visitor traffic (or a part disused for this purpose), in which an exploration or extraction of mineral resources was previously carried out underground, i.e. in tunnels and shafts .

Legal basis

Fire brigade exercise: Rescuing a group of visitors who had an accident in the Fell visitor mine

In Germany, according to Section 129 (1) of the Federal Mining Act (BBergG), visitor mines are subject to mining supervision . This is taken care of by the respective mining authority in whose administrative district the visitor mine is located. The operators are obliged to submit an operating plan, which u. a. Contains information on ownership, mining history and planned visitor traffic. However, aspects of safety are fundamental, such as statements on visitor routes , stability , irrigation and ventilation , fire protection and rescue services, and monitoring measures (e.g. radon control). Show mines, for example, need a second escape route and the responsible fire brigade must agree to practice rescuing accident victims from the mine at certain intervals.

In Austria, the Show Mines Ordinance regulates the operation of show mines.

Demarcation

According to the definition and the legal basis, the show mines do not include:

description

Elaborate stationary lighting
Group of visitors exiting a shaft hoisting system

A mine can have three phases of operation, in operation , decommissioned and post-use . Most are mines after they are no longer productive, closed to secure backfilled and thus made part inaccessible forever.

In the last few decades, they have often been set up for re- use immediately following the closure. In this way, some of the jobs could be preserved, with funding based on cultural subsidies and tourism. In addition, a large proportion of the visitor mines in Germany are operated by mining and homeland- affiliated associations that work on the pit buildings of the old mining industry and operate these visitor mines with the commercial idea behind.

Compared to the often magnificent stalactite caves, the visitor mines, which are more oriented towards an authentic atmosphere and information, are much younger. In Saxony, the Herkules Frisch Glück in Waschleithe, opened in 1926, was the first visitor mine of its kind. In recent times the number of visitor mines has increased significantly, in Saxony from 10 in 1989 to 61 in 2006.

Show mines are small parts of the often very large mine complex that are preserved, expanded, secured and provided with didactic installations and exhibits. In particular, the mines are usually equipped with stationary electrical lighting, which used to be rarely available in the mining industry. A few show mines offer somewhat more authentic tours by foregoing stationary light and instead equipping visitors with pit lamps.

Preserved mine railways , which are necessary to reach mining sites deep in the mountain, are very popular . Visits with boats and vehicles in large-scale mines are also an experience. Few visitor mines have a shaft hoisting system that is still in operation , with which visitors can travel deep. In addition, they are an important element of mining, without which the technology can only be partially represented.

There are show mines in most countries of the world, although they are particularly common in industrialized countries. In the course of the expansion of tourist offers, more and more show mines are being opened. In Germany there are now over 170 such show mines, in Austria a little over 30. However, some of these show mines have been shut down in recent years because they no longer met the safety regulations that were significantly increased after the Lassing mine disaster or the number of visitors is significantly below the often very optimistic one Expectations fell short and the mines therefore did not “pay off” for the operators.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Guideline for the operation of visitor mines and visitor caves. Sächsisches Oberbergamt, September 6, 2009, accessed April 8, 2014 . (PDF; 70.6 kB)
  2. ↑ Ordinance of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Labor on measures to ensure the safety of people when setting up and operating show mines, foreign visits or comparable use of pits in closed mines (show mine ordinance). Retrieved April 8, 2014 . (PDF; 20 kB)
  3. ↑ Saxon visitor mines - a form of subsequent use of old mining. Engineering office Dr. G. Meier, accessed April 8, 2014 . (PDF; 55.2 kB)