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Mines/Germany

Rammelsberg mine

Rammelsberg mine, Germany. Heritage site, underground, mining silver, copper, lead, zinc, gold.

Why Rammelsberg mine is famous

ICOMOS says the site has been mined for silver, copper, lead, zinc and gold since as early as the 3rd century BC, with the first written mention at the start of the 11th century. The rich silver ore was a main reason Henry II sited an Imperial residence nearby and held an Imperial Assembly there in 1009. In 1552 the mine passed from the town of Goslar to the Duchy of Brandenburg, Prussia took it in 1866 and the last mine closed in 1988.1,2

Story cards

What kind of deposit

Sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) zinc-lead

Rammelsberg mine today

Where silver is mined todayWhere copper is mined todayWhere lead is mined todayWhere zinc is mined todayWhere gold is mined todayMining in Germany

Where next

Mines

Same kind of depositRed DogRammelsberg was mined from the 3rd century BC. Red Dog began production in 1989.1An example ofLaurion silver minesRammelsberg was mined from the 3rd century BC. Laurion's silver funded the Athenian fleet.1

Places

Located inGoslarRammelsberg mine is about 2 km from Goslar.1Located inMines of Rammelsberg, Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management SystemRammelsberg mine is about 10 km from Mines of Rammelsberg, Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System.1

Deposit types

An example ofSedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) zinc-leadRammelsberg mine belongs to the sedimentary exhalative family of deposits.3

Sources

  1. Rammelsberg Ore Mine and the historic town of Goslar, evaluation No 623 UNESCO World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS advisory body evaluation
  2. Wikidata item Q155999 (Rammelsberg) Wikidata (CC0)
  3. Mineral Deposit Models (Bulletin 1693, Cox and Singer, eds., 1986) US Geological Survey

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Kimberley, South Africa: miners and washing gear at the Bultfontein diamond mine. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Potosi, Bolivia, NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); Dolcoath tin mine, Camborne, Cornwall: miners in a mine shaft, standing on wooden platforms connected by ladders. Photograph by J. C. Burrow, 1890/1910., Burrow, J. C., 1852-1914 (Public Domain Mark 1.0).