Fachartikel 2015

Negative environmental effects in connection with mining and tunneling are repeatedly highlighted in the media. Particularly critical are the issues of emissions and occupational safety. Through battery electric machines and automation of processes and machinery, a mine can unlock a number of benefits: improved health and safety, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower operating costs. At the same time, battery ...

Are studies in the fields of mineral resource and energy supply worth the effort? Is there even still any mining in North-Rhine Westphalia? What are the mining authority’s tasks if hard coal is no longer won? These are questions many young people, especially future students who are interested in studies in mining and energy, are asking themselves. The answer, according ...

In November 2015 the German Hard Coal Association (GVSt) in Herne, Germany, presented its annual report titled “Coal 2015 – Acting responsibly. Creating new perspectives.” The report outlines all kinds of ways in which the coal industry is already readying itself to deal responsibly with the post-mining era. Additionally it presents the current situation of the German coal industry and ...

While mining of lignite in opencast ceased in Lausitz and Leipzig area, groundwater level raises fast. Housing areas and roads partly were erected without considering former ground water levels. In the drained soil strata, pyrite oxidized and formed vast quantities of iron hydroxide and sulphate. These substances are now carried out into nearby water courses. Investigations show some areas endangered ...

Water management and conventional technical water treatment are by far the most cost-intensive long-term tasks of the Wismut remediation programme. Over the medium term, there is no viable alternative to the operation of active systems to catch and treat contaminated mine waters at the Ronneburg, Schlema, Königstein, Pöhla, Seelingstädt and Helmsdorf sites. Based on the status quo this paper outlines ...

The water authorities of the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial belt, namely the Emscher and Lippe river management associations and the Lower-Rhine catchment area authority, have been responsible for managing the water resources of the region as a public service for over 100 years (Figure 1). The impact of the mining industry has been such that local water resources have had to be ...

Total worldwide liability associated current and future remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) is approximately 100,000 million US-$. Consequences of failing to predict AMD for individual operations and for the mining industry include unplanned spending on remedial measures and reputational damage. Despite these severe risks, predicting AMD properties of mine wastes is typically not an attribute that is strongly embedded ...

In flooded shafts of the Ruhr-area distinct boundaries between differently mineralised water bodies have been observed at diverse locations. The influx of higher mineralised water from the rock mass and from the mine workings on the one hand and the penetrating less mineralised surface water on the other hand causes significant density differences in the water column. The formation of ...

In the Federal Republic of Germany the hard coal production will be phased out by the end of 2018. The abandonment of the coal mining industry triggers a crucial structural change in the former mining regions which has to be planned and shaped actively. In order to come up with the challenges, risks and chances of post-mining, the TFH Georg ...

Throughout its long history, the Bergakademie Freiberg has played an important role in the mining sciences and was a major driving force in the development of the geosciences and the natural and engineering sciences. Its high-level scientific education attracted students from all over the world. Among the most famous to enrol were Alexander von Humboldt (1769 – 1859) and Georg Philipp Friedrich ...