Bismuth object 03

The object 03 was a retrieval object of bismuth AG and as an independent structural unit subordinate to the head office directly. The mine field of object 03 in the Schneeberg area had an area of ​​approx. 8  km² and was opened up by 2 main tunnels , the Fürstenstolln and Marx-Semler-Stolln , and 16 main shafts. The object 03 included the undeveloped already through the historic mining Schneeberger pit box. The greatest depth in the mine field was reached at 372.64 m below the surface on the 155-Lachter level in the Weißer Hirsch shaft , which corresponds to approx. 67  m above sea level. NN . All depth information relates to the old mining floors, which were measured when the respective shaft collapsed and indicated in laughs . In most cases, the reference point for this information was the main tunnel in the mining area. In addition to the existing shafts, the bismuth sank 11 more shafts. In the case of new driveways , the depth was indicated as −m under the bottom of the respective underpassed main tunnel. The total uranium production of object 03 between 1946 and 1956 amounted to 209.7  t .

Historic mining

Between the 14th and 19th centuries

The exact start of mining in Schneeberg is not known. It was first mentioned in 1316. Iron , tin , copper and bismuth were searched for and mined . The first silver mine in today's urban area was mentioned in a document dated December 18, 1453. In the course of the award of an inheritance tunnel, the old Wismeuteche with two weirs was also awarded to Römer and Federangel on January 26, 1467 . This suggests an older mining on bismuth. The exact use of the bismuth ores is not certain, but the metal obtained from them was most likely used as an alloy component of the metal in the emerging book printing with movable type . It was also used as a glaze in pewter vessels and for painting.

The first silver ore was extracted in the Neue Fundgrube , which Luciae found in 1470 and delivered 118 marks (27.6 kg) of silver. After the first two silver finds in the Neue Fundgrube in 1472 and 1474, each with an amount of approx. 8,000 kg of silver, the “Great Silver Find” took place in 1477 in the field of the Alte Fundgrube . Around 14,000 kg of silver were mined here. In total, around 75,000 kg of silver were mined in this area within 10 years.

After Peter Weidenhammer helped the production of safflower to break through in around 1520 , and Christoph Schürer in 1540 the production of cobalt glass , cobalt became an important ore and from 1575 even exceeded the value of the silver mined in the district.

Cobalt ore from Schneeberg

For a long time, other ores occurring in the Schneeberg mining area played no role. It was only with the invention of nickel silver in 1823 by the Schneeberg doctor Ernst August Geitner that the abundant nickel ore in the area also became interesting for mining. The mining industry quickly penetrated further into the depths. The Rappold treasure trove is said to have reached a depth of 200 m as early as 1503. This development required the early planning and construction of drainage tunnels. The Fürstenstolln , first mentioned in 1481, brings a Saiger valley between 50 m at the Weißer Hirsch shaft and 118 m at Wolfgang Maassen in the area. The mouth hole of the Fürstenstolln , which has not been preserved, was located at today's Zechenplatz at an altitude of 380 m above sea level. The Marx-Semler-Stolln , which probably started in 1484, brought a Saiger depth between 87 m at the Weißer Hirsch shaft and 182 m at Wolfgang Maaßen in the area . The mouth hole of the Marx-Semler-Stolln is on the Zwickauer Mulde at 323.3 m above sea level. For the area in the Hintergebirge, the Griefner Stolln with its mouth hole at 487.20 m above sea level at the Morgenstern treasure trove was important. It was started in 1487 and brought in a Saiger depth of 36 m at Wolfgang Maaßen .

For the first time in 1772 uranium discoveries were reported in the name of Jesus Stolln . From that point on, uranium ores were mined for sale as showrooms. Pitchblend finds were made with certainty since the beginning of the Schneeberg mining. Since there was no use for this ore, it was dumped on the dump together with the deaf masses. Another part was delivered to the blue paint works because it was closely intergrown with the BiCoNi ores. The Schneeberger disease , named after its occurrence, is closely related to the uranium ores that occur. For the first time Paracelsus described the Schneeberg disease in his booklet "Von der Bergsucht or Bergkranckheiten three books" published in 1567. In 1815, Saxon pitchblende was also traded in France at a price of 2 francs for 100 grams. From 1825, the uranium ores extracted were also recorded in the mining statistics. In 1813, a method of making uranium dyes was published, which was used to color glasses and was also used as a glaze in porcelain and earthenware manufacture. Before that, uranium was used for medical purposes, for example to treat diabetes and as a cold medicine . The prices obtained for uranium at that time did not allow targeted extraction. The proceeds for 16.5 kg of uranium ore in 1825 were 115 marks. In 1881 a total of 15,857 marks were achieved for 3656 kg, which, however, only made up about two percent of the total proceeds.

Between the end of the 19th century and May 1945

Pitchblende from the Niederschlema-Alberoda deposit

With the discovery of radium by Marie Curie in 1898 in the Joachimsthaler Pechblende and its use in medicine, the food industry and as a light source, the price of uranium rose. Significant quantities of uranium ore were last mined in Schneeberg in 1904.

The search for uranium ores in the area began in 1910, supported by funding from the Bergbegnadigungsfonds. Although a total of 86.5 percent of all uranium ores mined in Saxony were mined in the Schneeberg mining area from 1880 to 1895 with 56.89 tons of uranium ore, preference was given to the Johanngeorgenstadt mine field and the search there was subsidized with a total of 90,114 million until 1916 Revier amounted to approx. 60 tons of uranium ore until 1945.

Due to inflation and falling raw material prices for nickel, bismuth and cobalt, as well as rising costs, the Schneeberg mining industry came to an almost complete standstill in 1924. The still existing rich ore parts were only selectively mined, but no further adjustments or fixtures were carried out. The underground works below the Marx-Semler-Stolln were abandoned. Only the self-sufficiency efforts of the German Reich and state-supported raw material prices helped the Schneeberg mining industry to regain a certain upswing from 1935 onwards.

In the autumn of 1934, the State Research Center for Deposits was commissioned by the Saxon State Mining Authority to investigate the bismuth, cobalt, nickel and uranium ore deposits in the Ore Mountains. In this context, the area was sampled for the first time in order to obtain the most accurate possible assessment of the ore reserves. Sampling took place with the help of sampling from the open corridors.

In 1936, a battery locomotive was used for the first time to transport the 2000 m long stretch of the 110 Lachter route between Weißer Hirsch and New Year ; a second locomotive was procured in 1943. The locomotives were built by Siemens & Schuckert in Chemnitz. The track width was 450 mm. With an operating weight of two tons, they pulled 8  hunt with a total weight of 4.8 tons.

In the meantime, uranium mining had almost completely shifted to the Bohemian Joachimsthal . About 379 t of uranium ore were extracted there between 1938 and 1941. With the discovery of nuclear fission by Otto Hahn , Lise Meitner and Friedrich Wilhelm Straßmann in 1938, the search for uranium took on a whole new meaning and became interesting for military purposes.

White stag, Neustädtel

From 1943 the Beustschacht was swamped , cleared and put back into operation. It was supposed to take over the function of a central shaft and, since the tailings pile at the White Hirsch was exhausted, also to lift the resulting mountain masses. At the end of the Second World War, the Weißer Hirsch , Beust , Neujahr and Schrotschacht pits were still in operation in the Schneeberger Revier . All of these shafts already had electric hoists.

From April 1, 1939, the Schneeberger Mining Union in Schneeberg-Neustädtel leased the entire mine building of the Johanngeorgenstadt Consolidated Union of United Field in Fastenberge . With the company resolution of September 22, 1944, the Schneeberger Mining Union in Schneeberg-Neustädtel was merged retrospectively to April 1, 1944 with five other state-owned ore mining companies to form Sachsenz Bergwerks AG .

The mining departments Wolfgang Maaßen and Gesellschaft Fundgrube , as well as the mining department St. Georg in the Weißer Hirsch district, were insulated and flooded up to the level of Marx-Semler-Stolln .

The mine buildings in the Schneeberger Revier had reached the following depths by 1945:

Pit field	Bismuth shaft number	deepest sole	m NN	Total depth in m	Meters below Marx-Semler	deepest anhydrous sole 1945
St. Georg pit		100 laughs	+ 144		208	Marx Semler
Princely Treaty	9/25	100 laughs	+ 162		190	100 laughs
White deer	3	155 laughs	+ 67	377	284	120 laughs
Katharina Neufang		140 laughs	+ 95	349	259	120 laughs
Shot chute	47	110 laughs	+ 154	363	204	110 laughs
New Year	11	110 laughs	+ 151	334	203	110 laughs
society	200	62 laughs	+ 244		115	Marx Semler
Beust	24	110 laughs	+ 150	376	211	110 laughs
Schindler shaft	72	60 laughs	+ 268		93	Marx Semler
Daniel treasure trove	36	100 laughs	+ 200	361	165	Marx Semler
Peter and Paul Treasure Trove	37	Name Jesus Stolln	+ 435	106		Name jesus
Siebenschlehen	10	48 laughs	+ 290	282	74	48 laughs
Adam Heber	43	48 laughs	+ 290	268	74	48 laughs
Türk shaft	83	3. Gezeug range	+ 245	315	117	Marx Semler
Rappold treasure trove	201	46 laughs	+ 270	225	84	46 laughs
Pucher shaft	260	Marx Semler Stolln	+ 362	172		Griefner tunnel
Priest treasure trove		90 laughs	+ 253		105	60 laughs
Wolfgang Maassen		146 laughs	+ 164	378	196	Marx Semler

From 1945

At the end of the war, 136 people were still employed in the Schneeberg mining industry, 68 of them underground. At this time BiCoNi ores of low content were mined on the Katharina Flachen , Richard Flachen , Ursula Flachen , Segen Gottes Spat and Rosenkranz Spat . Since Schneeberg belonged to the unoccupied area from the end of the war until June 25, 1945, the connection to the Oberbergamt in Freiberg was also interrupted. Due to the lack of prospect of a short-term resumption of mining, some of the employees were laid off. The number of employees fell to 48 in August 1945. The pit water in the Weißer Hirsch , Neujahrschacht and Beustschacht had meanwhile risen to the level of the 90-Lachter-sole.

After the occupation by Soviet troops, a Soviet commission visited the Schneeberg district for the first time on August 4, 1945. On September 14, 1945 the 9th Administration of the Ministry of Interior of the USSR formed the Geological Group (Геологопоисковая Партия). The Saxon ore search group (Саксонская Рудно-Поисковая Партия), which is subordinate to it, carried out the investigation of the Schneeberg deposit. The investigation work began in September 1945 and lasted until March 16, 1946. The investigation was then continued by the Saxon Extraction and Exploration Group formed on April 4, 1946 (Саксонская Промышленно-Разведочная Партия) and from August 1946 to the Oberschlema area extended. On the orders of Captain Regens, the Soviet city ​​commander of Schneeberg, on September 27, 1945, the mining of BiCoNi ores in the Schneeberg district was resumed. At this point in time the 110 Lachter sole had already been swamped . 45 miners were hired and 99 tons of ore were extracted by the end of the year. Beginning in November, on the orders of the Soviet Geological Commission, the swamping of the deep beds began. From November 6th, the cross-passage excavation between the New Year and Beust shafts, which had already begun in 1913, was resumed on the 110-Lachter-Sole . The breakthrough took place on March 25, 1946. This created a continuous connection between the Weißer Hirsch and Beust shafts . On April 3, the 140-Lachter-Sole could be used for the first time after the overcoming. The ore was only extracted sporadically during this time and the ores remained underground as there was no possibility of processing. On June 4, 1946, with the order 23 of the SMA Sachsen, the resumption of ore mining was ordered. Despite this order, Schneeberg had to hand over 28 miners to the uranium mining that started in Johanngeorgenstadt.

geology

The Schneeberg deposit is part of the Schneeberg- Schlema - Alberoda ore field . It is located in a trough structure running NW-SE, bounded by the Gleesberg granite in the northeast and the Eibenstock granite in the southwest. In the north-western part of the deposit, the Silurian - Devonian rocks of the Lößnitz - Zwönitzer intermediate trough, which ends at the Eibenstock granite, predominate. These rocks are embedded in Ordovician slate . The dark slates, dark mica rocks, metadiabase and skarns appearing here form the so-called “productive series”. These Ordovician slates form the central and the SE part of the Schneeberger deposit. The entire deposit is located in the contact area of the underlying granite and is changed by this contact metamorphic . The underlying granite lies in the central part of the hollow at approx. −400 m above sea level. The Gleesberg granite dips at 25–30 ° to SW, while the Eibenstock granite dips at 70–75 ° to NE. In the northwest of the deposit, the gleesberg granite of the Auer granite base plunges steeply to the north.

The main structures in the Schneeberger deposit are the shallow corridors . They reach an extension of up to 1,000 m. The structures of the Türk Flachen and the Rote Kamm with a length of several kilometers are an exception . The depth of these dikes is unknown, as the underlying granite was seldom reached by mining. While the Türk area probably forms the layer boundary between the Gleesberger granite and Eibenstock granite massifs, the structure of the Red Ridge delimits the deposit in the NE. Other well-known representatives of the flat corridors are the Katharina Flache , Großwinter Flache , Fürstenvertrag Flache , Resurrection Christi Flache and Rappold Flache .

The morning corridor system divides the deposit into an east-west direction and influenced its mineralization. Well-known representatives here are Parsival Morgengang , Fleischer Morgengang , Roland Morgengang and Schütz Morgengang . Their length is sometimes several kilometers, while the depth is also unknown.

In addition to the surfaces corridors also play for the degradation Spatgänge a greater role because they have a correspondingly large extent and were mineralized rich. Well-known representatives are Wolfgang Spat , Alexander Spat , Maximilian Spat , Sauschwart Spat , Priester Spat and Neujahr Spat .

Standing tunnels occur sporadically in the deposit, but hardly played a role in mining. The only exceptions are the standing frogs , St. George standing and King David standing .

• Noble quartz formation (eq formation)

This formation was mainly formed in the morning walks. The otherwise occurring mineralization with wolframite and molybdenite is absent in the Schneeberg mining area and was only found very sporadically on secondary rubble of the flat veins or the sparse veins.

• Gravelly lead formation (kb formation)

This formation occurred in the Schneeberger deposit on the King David standing . The mineralization of the veins consists of chalcopyrite , sphalerite , arsenopyrite , galena , pyrite , bornite and tennantite and was the subject of historical mining.

• Comb quartz calcite pitchblende formation (kku formation)

This formation only occurred sporadically in the Schneeberg deposit. The veins consist mainly of quartz , fluorite and calcite . The mineralization of these veins consists of pitchblende, coffinite , chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, hematite , lepidocrocite and lollingite and was representative of the primary uranium mineralization of this deposit. This mineralization was encountered, for example, on the Ottilie Flachen .

• Magnesium carbonate pitchblende formation (mgu formation)

This formation, which rarely occurs in the Schneeberger Revier, was created through a metasomatic transformation of the corridors of the kku formation. The courses consist mainly of dolomite and black fluorite (stink spar). The mineralization of the veins consists of pitchblende, chalcopyrite, hematite, lepidocrocite, clausthalite , umangite, naumannite, tennantite, bornite, chalcosine and marcasite . In 1830, the assessor of the Oberhüttenamt and professor of analytical and practical chemistry at the Bergakademie Freiberg , Carl Moritz Kersten , discovered selenium in the pitchblende of this formation for the first time .

• Bismuth-cobalt-nickel formation ( BiCoNi formation )

This formation is the main ore carrier in the Schneeberger deposit and is widespread on the flat veins and the spar veins. The corridors consist of dolomite, quartz, fluorite, barite and calcite. The mineralization of these veins mainly consists of native bismuth , skutterudite , rammelsbergite , safflorite , native silver , nickel line , lollingite, chalcopyrite, pitchblende, sphalerite, bismuthinite , coffinite and native arsenic .

At the beginning of mining, the Schneeberg deposit was partially opened up to a depth of 400 m by the bismuth. The granite underlying the deposit was only found in the edge areas. In the White Deer , the granite rising to the north was reached at 185 m above sea level. In the southwest of the deposit, in the Adam Heber mine field , the Adam Heber area forms the boundary to the granite. Just like the Prince of Peace Flache in Wolfgang Maaßen's mine field , who also forms a border with granite, both passages above the Marx-Semler-Stolln were developed.

In contrast to other deposits, however, the mineralization that has been found continues in the granite, in some cases very well developed, for example at St. Georg Flachen with silver ores, at Katharina Flachen with cobalt, bismuth and uranium ores and at Eva Spat in the mine area Adam Heber , who is one of the richest bismuth veins in the Schneeberg district.

Historically, around 150 tunnels have been developed in the Schneeberger deposit. About 30 more corridors were added through the excavations of the bismuth. About half of the veins encountered also show uranium mineralization.

As in other Bismuth districts, the Soviet geologists also left their traces in Revier 03 when naming the corridors discovered (e.g. the Tatiana, Sklatschnaja (quarrelsome), Spornaya (controversial) or Vladimirov corridors).

Veins of the Schneeberger deposit :

Pit field	Historic veins with uranium mineralization	other important courses	Veins / bismuth
St. Georg pit	"God's blessing for those standing"	"St. Georg Standing " " Old Treasure Trove Standing " " Rupprecht Flacher "	"Lenia Flacher" "Farewell Flacher"
Princely Treaty	"Fertile Folly Flat" "Princely Treaty Flat"	"Ursula Flacher" "Sittig Flacher" "St. Johannes Flacher "	"Geologists Flacher" "Markscheider Flacher"
White deer	"Katharina Flacher" "St. Georg Flacher " " Walpurgis Flacher "	"Christian Help Flacher" "Ottilie Flacher"	"Medium Flat"
New Year	"New Year Spat"	"Rosary Spat" "Three Lilies Flat" "Pankratius Flat"
society	"Brigitte Spat" "Zwickau Spat"	"Michael Flacher" "Alt Elisabeth Flacher" "Jacob Spat"
Beust		"Röhling Spat" "Kalbe Spat" "Sauschwart Spat"	"Youth Flat" "North Aisle" "Aisle 3"
Schindler shaft	"Karl Flacher"	"Gotthold Standing" "Goodness God's Spat" "Fresh Hope Flat"
Daniel treasure trove	"Daniel Spat" "Help God Spat" "Mohr Standing"
Siebenschlehen	"New luck flat"	"Siebenhüfen Flacher" "Siebenschlehen Flacher" "Jung Zeche Spat"	"Floating morning walk" "Tatjana Spat"
Adam Heber Treasure Trove	"Adam Heber Flacher" "Eva Spat"	"Grandfather Flat" "See on Flat" "October Flat"	"1. May " " Steiger Flacher " " November Flacher "
Türk shaft		"Türk Flacher" "Katharina Flacher" "Bringing Glück Spat"	"Erika I Flacher" "Gute Hope Flacher" "Victoria Flacher"
Rappold treasure trove	"Rappold Flacher"	"Hermann Spat" "Field Rose Flacher" "Heinrich Flacher"
Priest treasure trove	"Nicolaus Flacher"	"Priester Spat" "Andreas Flacher" "Großwinter Flacher"	"Gentian standing"
Wolfgang Maassen	"Friedrich August Spat" "Maximilian Spat" "Wolfgang Spat"	"Sidonie Spat"	"Sidonie Spat" "Maria Spat" "German House Spat"

Furthermore, uranium ore was also found during excavations in the Greif mine , in the Magnetenstollen and the Roter Hirsch mine in Hartmannsdorfer Forest. In the aisles Friedefürst Flacher , Alexander Spat and Fröhliche Aussicht Spat , only secondary uranium minerals such as zeunerite , autunite , Liebigite , uranopilite, torbernite , uranocircite , trögerite , uranospinite and walpurgin were found .

Between 1946 and 1956, a total of 209.7 t of uranium was mined in the deposit. The uranium output reached 0.3 kg / m². During the investigation and mining of the deposit, the deepest levels of historical mining were not reached in all pit fields. The depths of historical mining were only undercut with the −150 m level on the Gute Hoffnung area at the Türkschacht .

After the cessation of uranium mining in the deposit in 1956, the mobile floors and routes were examined by geologists from the Schneeberg operating department of the VEB Wolfram- Zinnerz Pechtelsgrün for other mineable ores up to 1957 . After the end of the exploration, it was assumed that around 3,000 to 4,000 tons of BiCoNi ores were still pending.

The investigations did not take into account the inaccessible parts of the deposit as well as the possibly continuing mineralization in the unscratched field up to the granite. The unscratched part of the deposit is sometimes several hundred meters thick.

Administrative development

Building of the main administration of the property 03

By resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on July 29, 1946 in Moscow, the Saxon Mining Administration was founded from the Saxon Extraction and Exploration Group under field post number 27304 of the Red Army . The geological exploration work in Schneeberg was carried out as before under the direction of the Russian geologist NM Chaustow (Николай Михайлович Хаустов), which is why the group working in Schneeberg was referred to as the “economic group Haustow”. The explorations were extended to Oberschlema from August 1946. The exploration work in the Schneeberger Revier took place parallel to the mining activities of the Sachsenz Bergwerks AG in the mine areas that were still accessible. At times, Sachsenz Bergwerks AG also took on the exploration tasks as a contractor. On August 1, 1946, the mines of the Sachsenz Bergwerks AG were administratively subordinated to Industrieverwaltung 6 (ore mining) founded on this date .

In August 1946 the facilities of the Schneeberg Revier were confiscated by Russian military units and declared a military exclusion zone. As of August 26, 1946, Chaustow's orders were no longer allowed to submit operational reports on the Schneeberg mining to Industrieverwaltung 6 in Freiberg.

After the discovery of seven ore-bearing tunnels in the Oberschlema study area, the Saxon Mining Administration established object 02 in October 1946 . For object 02 included the deposit parts Schneeberg, Oberschlema and Niederschlema. The seat of the property management was in the Kurhotel Schlema. The workforce of the mining area employed by Sachsenz Bergwerks AG was transferred to property 02 . The number of employees rose from 92 in August 1946 to 2800 in December 1946. From November 1946, the employees were managed with consecutive control numbers for the first time. In spite of their affiliation with property 02 , the employees' pay slips were still carried out by Sachsz Bergwerks AG .

The shafts used were numbered with Roman numbers. The numbers I to VIII were assigned until December 1946. In January 1947, the name Object 02 replaced the name "Economic Group Haustow". The shafts were still with Roman numbers up to number XII. figured. For the first time in January 1947 the light hole 15 was mentioned as a shaft.

On April 1, 1947, the Schneeberg deposit was spun off as an independent property 03 from property 02 . The headquarters of the property management were in the former Neustädtel town hall , today's middle school at Marienstraße 2a.

On May 30, 1947, the facilities of object 03 were transferred to Soviet ownership on the basis of order no. 131 of the SMA Saxony. After the Wismut AG branch was entered in the commercial register in Aue on July 2, 1947, property 03 was placed directly under the Wismut AG headquarters . In 1947 were in the object 03 6 wells, a total of 10 shaft ( Siebenschlehen ) shaft 11 ( New Year ), shaft 24 ( Beust ), 36 slot ( Daniel ), shaft 37 ( Peter and Paul ) and shaft 43 ( Adam Heber ) cleared and 3 shafts, shaft 25 ( Ritterschacht II ), shaft 26 ( forest shaft ) and shaft 50 ( children of Israel ), newly sunk. Until it was moved to Zobes in the spring of 1949, the newly founded object 14 took over the preparatory and alignment work in object 03 (e.g. shaft depth, drifting , and clearing ).

In 1948, shaft 47 ( Schrotschacht ), shaft 72 ( Schindler ), shaft 74 ( Hermannschacht ) and shaft 83 ( Türk ) were cleared and shaft 73 ( magnetic shaft ), shaft 75 ( mountain cap ), shaft 76 , shaft 77 ( Friede Fürst ) , Shaft 130 ( frogs cry ), shaft 131 and shaft 150 newly sunk. The number of employees in property 03 was around 7,000 in 1948. In addition, there were around 1200 employees from property 14 who were busy with preparation and alignment work within property 03 . In 1949, the previously independent shafts were subordinated to the newly created shaft administrations. The shaft management 9-25 ( shaft 9 , shaft 25 and shaft 76 ), shaft management 3-50 ( shaft 3 , shaft 47 , shaft 50 and shaft 75 ), shaft management 11-24 ( shaft 11 , shaft 24 , shaft 150 and Shaft 201 ), shaft management 10 ( shaft 10 , shaft 36 , shaft 37 , shaft 43 and shaft 72 ), shaft management 83 ( shaft 73 , shaft 74 and shaft 83 ), shaft management 26 ( shaft 26 , shaft 77 and shaft 260 ) and shaft management 130 ( shaft 130 , shaft 131 and shaft 200 ).

After stocks in parts of the deposit were exhausted, some of the shafts were written off. The remaining shafts were combined in shaft management 3 ( shaft 3 , shaft 9 , shaft 24 , shaft 25 , shaft 50 and shaft 130 ) and shaft management 10 ( shaft 10 , shaft 43 , shaft 72 and shaft 83 ) and effective September 1st Subordinated to object 09 in 1950 .

Due to protracted revision work, shafts 3 , 10 , 43 , 50 , 72 , 83 and 130 were still in operation in 1952, and they were combined in shaft management 10 . As a result of the exhaustion of reserves and the flooding of the deep soles by a flood in July 1954 was up to shaft 83 and shaft 130 set the operation on the other shafts. In the summer of 1956, uranium mining in the Schneeberg deposit was stopped. Following a decision of the Bureau of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic, on 23 February 1956, the deposit was August 1, 1956 by the Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy of the GDR as an operating department Schneeberg the VEB tungsten -Zinnerz Pechtelsgrün passed for further reduction of non-ferrous metal ores. Mining was finally stopped on July 1, 1957 by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of March 1957.

Mining operation

Alignment, fixture and removal

After Friedrich Schumacher (director of the Geological Institute of the Bergakademie Freiberg), Bergdirektor Willy Rumscheidt and Colonel Kreiter (head of the Soviet geological commission), Friedrich Schumacher and the physicist Carl Friedrich Gustav Aeckerlein (director of the Radium Institute of the Freiberg Mining Academy ) presented a report on October 8, 1945, which showed a reserve of 10 t of uranium for the Schneeberg mining area.

In August 1946, the Schneeberg mining operations were subordinated to the Saxon Mining Administration and the Weißer Hirsch ( Shaft 3 ), Neujahr ( Shaft 11 ), Beust ( Shaft 24 ) and Schrotschacht ( Shaft 47 ) shafts were taken over. The mining of BiCoNi ores in the Schneeberger ore field was continued in the Weißer Hirsch and Neujahr mine fields and stopped after the extraction of the last 123 tons of BiCoNi ores in October 1946.

In addition to the tonnlägigen shaft 3 and the open tonnlägige was from November 1946 Knight Shaft I ( slot 9 ) in the mine field prince contract until Prince Stolln developed and commissioned in December 1946 in operation. In this area, work was carried out on the fertile folly flat and the princely treaty flat . In addition, work began on the open, ton-length Siebenschlehen shaft ( shaft 10 ) and the Adam Heber shaft, which also has a ton length ( shaft 43 ).

In 1947 the work was intensified. The open, ton-length drift shaft of the Daniel Fundgrube ( shaft 36 ) to the Marx-Semler-Stolln and the open shaft of the Peter and Paul Fundgrube ( shaft 37 ) to the Griefner Stolln were cleared. Via 2 stepped shafts, the deep name Jesus Stolln was reached from shaft 37 . As a replacement for the too small shaft 9 , the depth of the Ritter shaft II ( shaft 25 ) was started. In order to strengthen shaft 3 , the depth of shaft 50 was started between this shaft and shaft 25 in the area of ​​the Kinder Israel Fundgrube . To the south of shaft 43, work began in the previously unscratched area with the depth of the forest shaft ( shaft 26 ). On shaft 3 , the dismantling work began in the corridors St. Georg Flacher and Walpurgis Flacher from the area near the surface to the Marx-Semler-sole . On to the Marx-Semler-Stolln aufgewältigtem shaft 10 mining began on the Neuglück surfaces and the Siebenhüfen surfaces . Shafts 11 and 24 , which were closed in 1946 , were put back into operation. During this time, mining in the area is largely limited to the removal of backfill from old mining above the Marx-Semler-sole . Similar to this work, however, stretches around 25,000 m old were also cleared and examined.

In 1948, the digging of new shafts in the less developed areas and the edge areas of the Schneeberg deposit began. The Magneten Schacht ( shaft 73 ) in Zschorlau on the old Magneten Stolln , the Bergkappe shaft ( shaft 75 ) in the area of ​​the old Bergkappe Fundgrube , the shaft 76 northwest of the shaft 47 , the Friedefürst shaft ( shaft 77 ) in the area of ​​the Friedefürst Treasure trove , the shaft Fröschgeschrei ( shaft 130 ) in the area of ​​the Föschgeschrei treasure trove , the Jäger shaft ( shaft 131 ) in the Hartmannsdorfer Forest in the area of ​​old mining on record, the youth shaft ( shaft 150 ) south of shaft 24 sunk. The Corpus Christi Stolln ( shaft 175 ) to shaft 130 was overcome.

Furthermore, several old shafts were cleared up again, such as the Schindler shaft ( shaft 72 ) to the Marx-Semler-Stolln , the Hermann shaft ( shaft 74 ) in Zschorlau, the Türkschacht ( shaft 83 ) to the Marx-Semler-Stolln , the Leipziger Stolln ( shaft 173 ), the drive shaft of the Fundgrube Gesellschaft ( shaft 200 ) to the Marx-Semler-Stolln , and the drive shaft of the Rappold Fundgrube ( shaft 201 ). Aufgewältigt was also Prince Vertrager art shaft as the shaft 90 between the Prince Stolln and 80 Lachter path . The blind shaft shaft 24 ^to in the area of shaft 24 between the Marx-Semler-tunnel and the newly excavated −60-m-floor and the blind shaft shaft 25 ^to between the Fürstenstolln and the Marx-Semler-tunnel were newly sunk . In shaft 43 , which was broken several times down to the lower name of Jesus Stolln , mining began on the Neuglück flat and the old father flat . A verstuften bay from Lower name Jesus Stolln was Marx Semler-Stolln reached. In the Siebenschlehen district , the old Moritzschacht was cleared on the Neuglück flat between the Marx-Semler-Stolln and the 48-Lachter route .

In order to accelerate the investigation work, the old Saigere Katharina Neufang drift shaft up to the Fürstenstolln and the ton-long drift shaft of the Oberer Klingelsporn pit up to the Marx-Semler-Stolln were excavated on the Katharina Flachen . The shaft 47 was put back into operation. In addition, the Katharina Kunstschacht between the Marx-Semler-Stolln and the 110-Lachter route and the Paul Schacht between the 58-Lachter route and the 110-Lachter route were overcome. The south of the Catherine lode preferred pit Iron Landgraf was to Prince Stolln aufgewältigt and on which also located in this area luck well surfaces was luck well Schurf to 25 geteuft m. In the area of Schneeberger acropolis was at the woman alley near the old hope of mine , the Lorenz bay and in the Rödergasse, in the field of arms widow mine , the shaft Rödergasse geteuft. Since these two shafts were tonnage-long, this work could also have been an overhaul of old shafts. The mining took place very close to the surface of the Stadtberg and there were repeated penetrations after days. In operation of went shaft 25 with the reaching of the 36-Lachter path , the chute 26 with achieving the Prince Stolln sole , the shaft 50 with the reaching of the 36-Lacher-path and the shaft 130 with the reaching of the Marx-Semler -Sole .

In 1949, the area of ​​the Schneeberg deposit was largely completed. The pit II set up on the fertile foolishness surface was designated as shaft 268 and the overcrowding shot through at shaft 25 on the correct surface was designated shaft 267 . At shaft 130 , the blind shaft 266 was sunk between the Frog Screaming Stolln and the Marx-Semler-Stolln . In Zschorlau, Schurf 18 was sunk in the area of ​​an old mining field . As Andreas Schurf , the daily shaft of the Andreas treasure trove was cleared. The following shafts went into operation when they reached their final depth: shaft 72 (on Marx-Semler-Stolln ), shaft 73 (at 64 m), shaft 74 (at 60 m), shaft 75 (on Marx-Semler-Stolln ), shaft 76 (on the 36-Lachter route ), shaft 77 (on the Fürstenstolln ), shaft 131 (at 69 m) and shaft 150 (on the 56-Lachter route ). Blind shaft 24 ^bis and blind shaft 25 ^bis also went into operation. At shaft 83 , the mining work began between the Hahnekräher tunnel and the Fürstenstolln and the shaft clearance reached the Marx-Semler-tunnel . The work on clearing shaft 201 reached the Fürstenstolln . In the mining area Prince contract was with the workover of the driving shaft Prince Vertrager the Zwickau road started to the northeast.

Since the investigation sections of shaft 77 moved in the area of ​​the old man and there was a risk of water ingress, the Pucher shaft was cleared as shaft 260 and the swamping of the old buildings began. Nevertheless, before the old structures had been pumped dry, water seeped in, as a result of which the pit field from shaft 77 sank and had to be swamped again. While mining in the immediate city area was still above the bottom of the Fürstenstollen (here a new bottom had been excavated in the depth of the Upper Fürstenstolln (426 m), which was first mentioned in 1472 ), mining in the other mine fields continued deeper. In the area of ​​the Princes' Treaty of Flacher and Fertile Folly Flacher , the excavations on the partially newly excavated levels now reached a depth of 60 m below the Marx-Semler level , on the St. Georg Flachen the 40-Lachter route and on the Katharina Flachen the 120 -Lachter route . In the area between shaft 43 and shaft 11 , the mining moved between the level of the Oberen Namen-Jesus-Adit and the 24-Lachter route . In the area of shaft 24 , shaft 72 saiger, which was tonnage from the Marx-Semler bottom, was sunk further to the −60 m bottom . Due to the large-scale dismantling of deaf corridor areas, the output dropped to 0.112 kg / m² corridor area.

In 1950 uranium mining had reached its peak. At the beginning of the year, shafts 36 , 37 and 47 were written off and shafts 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 and 83 were transferred to exploration. The existing ore reserves were depleted and it was hoped that there would be an increase in reserves at deeper levels. This hope was only fulfilled in shaft 83 . Here one began with large-scale driveways at the Fürstenstolln and Marx-Semler-Stolln level . The driving of the −30 m level was started using a die in the Gute Hoffnung corridor and the excavation work moved between the level of the Hahnekräher Stolln and Marx-Semler-Stolln . All other shafts, as well as shaft 131 , were written off as of September 1st. At the same time, shaft 11 , shaft 26 , shaft 130 and shaft 150 were being explored. The object 03 was dissolved and the object 09 assumed. The shaft 26 was sunk up to the level of the Marx-Semler-Sole . The investigation work was intensified in the south-eastern pit field. The drift shaft of the Wolfgang Maaßen mine was excavated as far as the Marx-Semler-Stolln , and from there the Wolfgang Spat and the northern resurrection of Christ mine on the Marx-Semler-Sohle investigated. In the field of shaft 43 , mining began below the Marx-Semler-sole on the granite tunnels, which were directly in the granite , in October and December . In the pit field of shaft 3 , the mining had meanwhile reached the 80-Lachter route .

In 1951, the exploration and mining work continued on the deeper levels. The shaft 10 was opened up to its deepest level, the 48-Lachter route . An attempt was made to drain the water from the Gesellschaft quarry by opening the slider from two spindles on the 90-Lachter route at shaft 24 . Due to the large amount of water, this could only be done on weekends. The water flowed from Spünden on the 110-Lachter route to shaft 3 , where it was lifted onto the Marx-Semler-Stolln and discharged over it. In the pit field, shaft 3 , the dismantling reached the 140-Lachter route and in the area of ​​the Andreas Fundgrube , the work reached the Marx-Semler-Stolln . The transition to the remote -build Schurf 18 reached a depth of 100 m. The excavation work on shaft 83 ranged between the Fürstenstolln level and the −30 m level . After the haul rope broke and the skip crashed, work on shaft 11 was also stopped. The well 26 was built on the only crossing to reduction in inventories Nadjeschda dropped. Work on shaft 150 was also stopped . The work on the Fürstenvertrager Treibeschacht was stopped at a depth of 32 m in January 1951 without the old mine being reached.

In 1952 one reached on the shaft 3 , the 155-Lachter track and in the area Prince agreement , the 120-Lachter route . In the more deeply sunk shaft 130 , the −60 m level was driven, the driving of the −40 m level began and the −90 m level was attached via die 8 . The shaft 83 was to the deepest bottom of the well and of the mine field, the 3rd Gezeugstrecke aufgewältigt. This stretch was expanded as a −120 m level to the main delivery level and the drive to the newly discovered corridors began. At the same time, work began on driving the −60 m level , which was reached from the Marx-Semler level via a die sunk into the Erika corridor . During this time, the excavation work moved between the Fürstenstolln level and the −30 m level . The investigation work in the south-eastern mine field was also continued.

From shaft 24 , the 60-Lachter route to shaft 201 and further south to Priester Schacht was made . The shaft 201 itself was opened up to the Marx-Semler-Stolln . The investigation of the Marx-Semler sole was continued on the Andreas Schacht . At the end of 1952 were shaft 9 and shaft 25 and the Schurf 18 depreciated. With the cessation of operations on shaft 24 , the attempt to swamp the submerged mine workings in the Gesellschaft mine field was given up . As a result of the exploration work carried out, the increase in ore reserves once again exceeded the extinction.

In 1953, a cross passage from Shaft 3 was driven on the −120 m level in the mining area 130 , the driveways on the −90 m level , the −60 m level , and the −40 m level continued and hit the −20 m level . In shaft 83 , the driving of the −120 m level was continued. The mining work now moved between the Fürstenstolln level and the −60 m level . In the Shaft 3 field , mining work continued up to the 155-Lachter route . In the area of shaft 43 and shaft 72 , the work between the Marx-Semler-Sole and the 48-Lachter route was largely completed and the area was then subjected to another overhaul. The shaft 43 was written off as a result. In the south-eastern pit field, the drive shaft of the Resurrection of Christ was opened up and called Schurf's friendship to accelerate the work . The work there reached a depth of 100 m by the end of the year. The investigation of the corridors on the Marx-Semler-Stolln was carried out by Wolfgang Maaßen .

In 1954, excavation of the −90 m level began in shaft 83 . Dismantling now took place between the Marx-Semler-sole and the −90 m-sole . In the shaft 130 of the cross-cut was extended and the blind shaft 130 ^up to the -180 m level geteuft. The −180 m level , −120 m level , −90 m level , −40 m level and −20 m level were driven . The research work in the area of ​​the Resurrection of Christ Fundgrube and Wolfgang Maaßen was continued between the Fürstenstolln and the Marx-Semler-Stolln , as well as in the Priester Schacht area between the Fürstenstolln and the 60-Lachter route . When supplies were exhausted, shaft 10 was written off and operation in shaft 72 was stopped. After the flood of July 10, 1954, in the course of which the mine building flooded up to the 110-Lachter route , all revision work was stopped and the inventories under the 155-Lachter route were written off. The shaft 50 was written and set to the shaft 3 of the operation. At the end of the year, only shaft 83 and shaft 130 were still working in the area .

In 1955, excavation work was carried out on shaft 83 between the −30 m level and the −120 m level. On January 1, all tunneling work in shaft 130 was stopped and the shaft was written off in autumn after the remaining stocks had been depleted. From May 1955, the mining of BiCoNi ores began in the fields of Shaft 72 and Shaft 83 on parts of the corridor that had not yet been mined. Selective mining took place in the corridors Sehet Auf Flacher , Neuglück Flacher ( shaft 72 ) and probably Victoria Flacher and Erika Flacher ( shaft 83 ). In 1956, the −150 m level was driven in shaft 83 . It is the only floor in Schneeberg that fell below the previously deepest mining of the "old". Mining now took place between the −30 m level and the −120 m level . The work in object 03 was stopped on June 1, 1956, without the exploration being completed and the ore reserves being mined. This ended the mining work by SDAG Wismut in the Schneeberger Revier. Shaft 3 , shaft 24 , shaft 72 and shaft 83 were handed over to VEB Wolfram-Zinnerz Pechtelsgrün on August 1, 1956 by the Ministry of Heavy Industry of the GDR as the Schneeberg operating department for further mining of non-ferrous metal ores. In addition, shaft 72 was expanded by the SDAG Wismut as the main production shaft in 1956/57 .

Starting in September 1956 and up to June 30, 1957, investigations into the building worthiness of the existing BiCoNi mineralization were carried out. This work was carried out by the works geologist von Pechtelsgrün, and from 1957 also with the support of VEB Bleierzgruben Freiberg and the Freiberg Mining Academy . The proven reserves of BiCoNi ores amounted to almost 1 million m² of buildable aisle area in the reserve classes B, C ₁ and C ₂ . Of this, 82.5 percent were C ₂ stocks. In the distribution across the pit fields, 78.5 percent was accounted for by shaft 83 . Even before the final investigation report was submitted, the mining industry was shut down in March 1957 by a resolution by the Council of Ministers on July 1, 1957. To control the water flow on the Marx-Semler-Stolln , shaft 3 was kept open and only closed with a concrete cover in 1972. The shaft 72 was kept and which is located on the site of today Bergsicherung Sachsen GmbH . Until November 1957, the site of the Bergsicherung Schneeberg, founded on July 1, 1957, was located on the site of shaft 83 . After the relocation of the headquarters to the site of shaft 3 , all buildings from shaft 83 were demolished. Only the winding tower was preserved and is now a listed building. The ensemble from Shaft 24 was to be preserved as a cultural monument, but was demolished by the city of Schneeberg and a waterworks was built on the site in 1970.

Used conveyor technology

With the exception of shaft 24 and shaft 72 , the shafts from old mining took up several tons and had very small clear cross-sections of 3.1 m² to 5.4 m². It was not possible here to transport people and materials using rope. The conveyance through these shafts was carried out using skip systems. In shaft 3 , shaft 10 , shaft 11 , shaft 24 and shaft 47 , when the shafts were taken over, electrical conveyor systems from Sachsenz Bergwerks AG were already installed. The newly sunk shafts shaft 25 , shaft 26 , shaft 50 , shaft 73 , shaft 75 , shaft 77 , shaft 130 , shaft 131 and shaft 150 were so-called type projects with a uniform clear cross-section of 8.5 m², rectangular excavation and bolt shot support. Due to the wooden headframes and the TM 23 type hoisting machines used, the conveyance was limited to a maximum conveying speed of 5 m / s for a hunt in the conveyor frame . Two hunts could be conveyed in the conveyor frame via shaft 76 with a clear cross-section of 12.0 m².

Front tippers with a track width of 300 mm and a volume of 0.25 m³ were used for horizontal extraction on many levels of the old mine, but also for some new excavations (e.g. in the area of shaft 37 ). Where the driveway width allowed, the rail dimensions were increased to 450 mm and 600 mm. Front and side tippers with a volume of 0.44 m³ were used here.

The loading work was carried out by hand in the first few years. From 1951, the first PML 3 throwing shovel loaders were used where the cross-section of the route allowed.

The two existing battery locomotives were most likely used on the existing route network on the 110 Lachter route .

Battery locomotives of the type EGS Karlik , which were built from 1947 by the Bleichert Transportanlagenfabrik of the AG "Transmasch" Leipzig , were used as additional traction means during this time . The battery locomotive weighed 2.2 tons and had a pulling force of 2 KN at a top speed of 5.9 km / h. From the beginning of the 1950s, battery locomotives of the Metallist type from the BBA Aue (formerly “Hiltmann & Lorenz”) were probably used. This battery locomotive weighed 2.9 tons and had a pulling force of 2.1 KN at a top speed of 6 km / h. With its small width (780 mm) and a negotiable curve radius of 5 m, it was ideally suited for the small track cross-sections and tight curve radii. Similarly, larger dogs with a volume of 0.60 m³ were also used.

Drainage

The central dewatering of the Schneeberger Revier was in 1945 at shaft 3 on the 113-Lachter route and 110-Lachter route . Here three pumps with a total output of 195 m³ / h conveyed the water to the level of the Marx-Semler-Stolln .

Another dewatering was located at shaft 24 on the 90-Lachter route and the 110-Lachter route . Here two pumps with a total output of 75 m³ / h conveyed the water to the 50 Lachter route . From here, the water was transported to the surface by another pump. After the breakthrough between the Beust and New Year pit fields on the 110-Lachter route , the dewatering in the shaft on this floor was stopped.

The central drainage system at shaft 3 was retained until the end of mining in object 03 . At shaft 24 there was a reserve water management system on the 90-Lachter route to relieve the central drainage system at shaft 3 , which was operated once a week. Another dewatering to relieve the central dewatering was located on the 36-Lachter line at shaft 50 and was normally only in operation in one shift.

Shaft 26 , shaft 72 , shaft 76 , shaft 77 , shaft 83 and shaft 130 had their own dewatering . While at shaft 72 (from the 48-Lachter route ), at shaft 76 (from the 36-Lachter route ), at shaft 83 (from the −120 m level ) and at shaft 130 (from the −180- m bottom ) the water was discharged via the Marx-Semler-Stolln , at shaft 26 the water was lifted from the Marx-Semler-Stolln level to the Griefner-Stolln and at shaft 77 from the Fürstenstolln level to above days.

Since the shafts shaft 36 , shaft 37 , shaft 200 , shaft 201 , shaft 260 , Resurrection of Christ , Andreas and Wolfgang Maassen were only opened up to the deepest water-dissolving adit, no separate dewatering was necessary there.

Dump management

The dumps from the time of the old mining were also the target of the search for uranium. Out of a total of 286 investigated heaps, only 18 were included in the detailed exploration. As a result, 4 heaps were completely cleared while searching for ore. These include a. the heaps of shaft 43 and shaft 37 .

As the shafts of the property were partly located in the urban area of ​​Schneeberg, there was little or no space available for dumping. The masses of shaft 3 were brought to a site between Gleesbergstrasse and Köhlerweg via a dump track. The masses from shaft 9 and shaft 25 also had to be transported by dump railway to a site between today's B 93 and Oberer Krankenhausweg.

Due to their hillside location, it was possible to dump slab heaps at shaft 10 , shaft 11 , shaft 24 , shaft 47 , shaft 72 , shaft 77 , shaft 83 , shaft 130 and shaft 150 . At the other shafts, terraconic heaps were filled with one cone ( shaft 26 , shaft 50 and shaft 75 ) or with two cones ( shaft 3 , shaft 25 , and shaft 76 ). After the mining work had ceased, the heaps of shaft 3 , shaft 25 , shaft 26 , shaft 50 , shaft 75 , shaft 77 and shaft 83 were partially removed for ballast extraction and the rest was then leveled and greened. The heaps of shaft 10 , shaft 11 , shaft 47 , shaft 76 and shaft 130 were flattened and greened in the 1970s. The heap from shaft 72 has only recently been recultivated. Only the heap of shaft 24 has largely been preserved in its original form.

literature

• Calendar for the Saxon mountain and hut man. 1827 to 1851 Royal Mining Academy in Freiberg.
• Yearbook for the mountain and hut man. 1852 to 1872 Royal Mining Academy in Freiberg.
• Yearbook for mining and metallurgy in the Kingdom of Saxony. 1873 to 1917.
• Yearbook for mining and metallurgy in Saxony 1918 to 1934.
• Carl Schiffner: Uranium Minerals in Saxony . Freiberg i. Sat. 1911.
• Werner Runge: Chronicle of the bismuth . Ed .: Wismut GmbH. Self-published, Chemnitz 1999, OCLC 84330928 (CD).
• Mining Association Schneeberg e. V. (Ed.): Proceedings . tape 5 . Schneeberg July 2007.
• Franz Kirchheimer: Uranium and its history . E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1963, DNB  452418828 .
• Anna Neef: 50 years of mountain security in Schneeberg . E. Bergsicherung Schneeberg GmbH, Freiberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-86012-310-2 .
• Ulrich Lipp with additions by Siegfried Flach: bismuth, cobalt, nickel and silver ores in the northern part of the Schneeberg deposit district . In: Sächsisches Landesamt für Umwelt und Geologie [LfUG], Sächsisches Oberbergamt [SOBA] (Hrsg.): Mining monograph (=  Mining in Saxony . Volume 10 ). Freiberg 2003 ( sachsen.de ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Saxon. HStA Loc. 4324, p. 21.
2. ↑ Saxon. HStA Loc. 4324, p. 22b.
3. ↑ Rolf-Fredrik Matthaei: Purchasing power as a measure of the value of money. Retrieved March 25, 2018 . 

Coordinates: 50 ° 34 '54.4 "  N , 12 ° 38' 4.8"  E