Inspection of Schmid shaft 2022

Inspection of Schmid shaft 2022

Inspection of the Schmid shaft in 2022:
On April 19, 2022, the Schmid shaft was inspected to investigate the discharge conditions of the key tunnel in the area of the Bolzeschacht. The determination of the hydraulic mine water conditions is the basis for the evaluation of effective geothermal use. In addition, the palaeontological traces discovered in the Rotliegend sandstone during a previous inspection were to be mapped and documented in more detail.

Participants in the inspection:
Th. Wäsche (film author, Wettelrode) and Elster (guides) / Dr. B.-C. Ehling, G.-W. Thauer, Heider, Seidemann ( LAGB) / Schneider, Fensl (Schmid-Schacht) / Rülke (LMBV) / S. Kreisel (RBFK).


Route / duration:
W-Schacht Wimmelburg entrance / Gezeugestrecke 1 / Froschmühlenstollen to Abzweig Flaches to Bolze-Schacht / 11 hours

Results:
Just below the filling point of the Bolze shaft is an overflow of the mine water that collects in the Mansfeld syncline. This overflow is "active" so to speak (in contrast to the overflows located further up the tunnel) and feeds the water into the key tunnel there. No inflow could be measured from the direction of Helbra, where the water "stands" in the tunnel.
The water inflow was not measured, but it is considerable. Rough estimate: 3-4 m³/min. A water sample was taken. The neutralized water from the area of pond 10 (Theisenschlämme landfill) is also discharged there via a pipe system. These pipes are not located in the shaft tube, but approx. 20 m east of it, in the area of the overflow trough / discharge into the key tunnel. A larger cavity was also created there (approx. 8 x 30 m), which would be suitable for the installation of a heat exchanger.  

The history of the Schmid Shaft:
It was named after Carl Friedrich Schmid (01.05.1790 - 01.09.1845), who was a teacher at the Eisleben Mining School as well as a master smelter and also head of the Mansfeld raw smelters. A plate from the Kerßenbrock porcelain service is decorated with an image of the Schmid shaft:

  • 1844 - Sinking of the Schmid shaft in the Kuxberg mining district.
  • 1846 - Sinking cross-section: 2.50 by 4.40 m / at 184.0 m final depth the copper slate seam is reached.  
  • 1849 - Connection of the Schmid shaft underground to the Schlüsselstollen.
  • 1949 - Significant water problems due to water inflows during sinking -> raising the water to Froschmühlenstolln level by means of rod pumps with steam drive above ground.
  • 18.05.1851 - The deepest Mansfeld mine up to this point in time became known beyond the region thanks to the first time a hoist was attached to the steam hoisting machine. On May 1, 1851, a commission led by mining councillor Bolze and juryman Ziervogel took delivery of this new, mechanically operated hoisting system by climbing ladders into the shaft in the usual way and using the footboards of the mechanized hoisting system for the exit. 37 resting platforms suspended from two steel cables in constant up and down movement made it possible to ascend and descend the shaft by alternately stepping from platform to platform. This was the world's first technical standard in passenger transportation in the mining industry, the first Mansfeld driving art.
  • 1864 - End of ore mining with the commissioning of the Ernst shaft (Walter-Schneider shaft).
  • The shaft was subsequently used for dewatering and water supply and as a ventilation shaft.
  • The pumping station of the Schmid shaft supplied the Koch hut (August-Bebel hut) in Helbra for decades.
  • Industrial water was pumped until 1992.
  • 2006 - The Schmid shaft is finally abandoned as an access, ventilation and dewatering shaft after testing.
  • At a depth of 51.5 m, a massive seal is inserted and the shaft tube is backfilled with copper slag.