click on the large picture (Baryt-xx with Chalkopyrit-xx, 200 m. underground :-) to ask the forum for a map and/or recent information on the locality
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On 30/05/2004 the GVL was lucky to be able to get inside the Dreislar! (thanks to Stefan Kempeneers and thanks to the mine-management to allow us in !)
We were allowed to collect minerals on the 1st level and on the 4th level. To reach the 1st level we walked in ; to reach the 4th level (about 200 m. underground and about 219 m. above sealevel) we were driven in by a 4x4 car !! You will believe me if I tell you that was a nice drive ;-) Click here for one and here for another movie of us driving underground hahaha (just for fun; each movie is about 10 mb...)
On the 1st level I found nice white Baryt-xx with Chalkopyrit-xx and Dolomit-xx and I know everyone was lucky to find nice pieces.
On the 4th level there was a cavity in the ceiling, we were able to reach with a large steel pipe (!). The largest pieces that came from that cavity were about 25x20 cm (!). I have some 'smaller' pieces at home reaching 18x11 cm, covered with pinkish Baryt-xx in 2 generations and Chalkopyrit-xx. The Chalkopyrit-xx reach 4 mm. The Baryt-xx reach 3 cm in length.
We also found nice specimens with Dolomit-xx, Pyrit-xx, Markasit-xx and yellow-black Sphalerit-xx (to 7 mm!), but only outside the mine in a temporary dump next to the entry of the mine, not underground. Needless to say we were very happy with those :-) because Sphalerit is rare in Dreislar.
But... Baryt-specimens from here can get meter-long with crystals reaching exceptional 20 cm (!). See the 1x1 meter Baryt specimen in the office building...
There are at the time 7 people working the mine; getting about 225 tons (!) up to the mill every dayshift. It is a very efficient mine, working only by trucks underground.
OK, the largest truck can load ca. 38,9 tons per hour... Click here for a thesis by Mathias Horstmann about the mining techniques used in Dreislar.
If you're searching for mineralogical articles on this locality (mw-2004-03-02-duitsland-sauerland-dreislar [a great 40-page article by Georg Unland] etc..), please contact us...
Dolomit-xl with Chalkopyrit-xl on Baryt-xx (width=10mm ; our photo&collection :-)
Some specimens from level-4:
Some specimens from level-1:
Some specimens from outside the mine:
Also see:
schwerspatmuseum.de,
sachtleben-bergbau.de,
mining forum,
geologie.uni-freiburg.de,
mining-europe.de,
arcis-minerals.de,
Mindat.org on this location.
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(Click here to download Google Earth)
If you have more recent information on this locality, mineral photographs or locality pictures:
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