Click on the Siegenit-xls (Width= 3 mm ; collection&photo: FdW) to ask the forum for a map and/or recent information on the locality
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Near Brunssum you can't miss the dumps of the former Hendrik and Emma coalmines. The dumps are a few square-km large and 40 meters high, consisting of the rock in which the coal was embedded. The coal was used, the rock was dumped here. In the Netherlands you can count mineral localities on the fingers of one hand. This is the best one, containing Chalkopyrit, Pyrit, Markasit, Sphalerit, Quarz and even Millerit in mm to cm large crystals but also Siegenit! We found some small silverwhite xls looking very much like Siegenit, but not analysed yet; although Siegenit on Chalopyrit is a very typical parageneses on coaldumps... We have also seen Vivianit and something like Beudantit from the Hendrik in Wim Wijshoff's collection; but that also needs to be analyzed to be completely sure...
It is possible to officially visit the quarry and dumps: see limburg.geologischevereniging.nl.
In september 2005 the Hendrik has completely changed... The interesting hill on the right side near the Afcend/Afnorth terrain is completely gone; the quarry is recultivating that part (it is said for a golf-course?); and it was almost impossible to find interesting material... Let's see what the future brings:
You can see on the below panorama how much has changed!
Click on the thumbnail for a panorama of the dumps (888 Kb)
Click here for a movie of 30 seconds of the Hendrik (12 mb; might take a while, depending on the speed of your connection...). And click here for another one (27 mb).
Below are some new pics we made on 17/10/03. You can see that the hill in this picture is completely carried away in this picture. We found nice Quarz, Chalkopyrit and Millerit.
Below are some pics Tim Welting made in april 2005. He found nice Quarz-xls, Chalkopyrit and Calcit:
(Specimens and pictures by Tim Welting)
Read all other details in the article below:
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A nice old picture of the Hendrik mining complex we received from Henk Noot.
A nice piece with xls of Sphalerit, Galenit, Chalcopyrit en Quarz found underground in the Emma (collection Maurice de Graaf).
Also see:
mineralsandmines.eu,
ta.tudelft.nl,
geo.uu.nl/ngv,
bareschjop.com,
Click on the Google Earth logo to go to a map of the locality...
(Click here to download Google Earth)
Mindat.org on this location.
The Hendrik dumps on YouTube:
If you have more recent information on this locality, mineral photographs or locality pictures:
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