Mines of Rammelsberg

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Mines of Rammelsberg and Historic Town of Goslar


State Party = GER
Type = Cultural
Criteria = i, iv
ID = 623
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1992
Session = 16th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/623The Mines of Rammelsberg are a UNESCO World heritage site near the German town of Goslar, the site of continuous mineral extraction over a period of more than 1000 years. The Rammelsberg is a mountain, whose summit is at 636 meters above sea level.

History

The mining history of the Rammelsberg occurred as a continuous process in different phases. Initially the main product was silver ore, then later copper, and finally lead. The mines were exhausted only in the 1980s, and were shut down in 1988.

The ore contained an average of 14% of zinc, 6% lead, 2% copper, 1 g/t gold and 140 g/t silver. [cite journal|title=The Rammelsberg massive sulphide Cu-Zn-Pb-Ba-Deposit, Germany: an example of sediment-hosted, massive sulphide mineralisation|author= Large D, Walcher E.|journal= Mineralium Deposita|year= 1999|volume= 34|pages= 522–538|doi=10.1007/s001260050218] Recent archeological findings at the location of Düna (near Osterode) suggest that, in fact, mining at the Rammelsberg had already begun 6-700 years earlier. Layers of an early settlement dated to about the 3rd or 4th century AD located about 25 miles south of the Rammelsberg contained not only pre-industrial melting equipment but also remains of ore, which could clearly be identified as Rammelsberg ore.

In its history about 27 million tons of ore were extracted from the mountain.

Museum

After the mines were closed down by Preussag a museum was established to preserve the heritage and to display the history of the mines and their industrial equipment. The museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage.

External links

* http://www.rammelsberg.de/

References