Das Döhlener Becken bei Dresden - Unbekannter Bergbau

four multiple fault systems exist that mark the south-western
margin and the north-eastern slopes of internal monzonite
highs.
The varying thickness of strata in all formations points to a
continuous tectonic activity of variable intensity. This contradicts
the earlier notion of only two periods of tectonic inquiescence.
Clastic dykes are a common feature in the lower
half of the basin fill. They probably formed as a result of
seismic events affecting poorly consolidated sediments.
The dykes represent comb-like series of extension cracks
mainly in coal seams that were filled from the top by soft
sedimentary material or by intrusion of plastic material from
the bottom. Post-depositional deformation developed due
to the differential settling of coal and clastites. With increasing
sediment thickness and stability, the dykes formed preferentially
in zones of normal faulting that are straddling the
basement ridges.
The basin expanded during sedimentation in the northwestern
portion by five to ten percent and in the south-eastern
area by 15-30 % in north-easterly/ south-westerly direction.
Numerous underground faces do not reveal any significant
north-south trending faults.
Hydrogeological investigations undertaken by the WISMUT
GMBH in the area of the Dresden-Gittersee waste rock
piles indicate that ground water is flowing on both flat lying
fractures and steeply dipping, presumably northerly trending
fracture zones in the Bannewitz-Hainsberg Formation.
A large amount of information, part of it published for the
first time, has been compiled on six maps and subsets of
maps. These illustrate the
• sites of 962 deep drill holes (>15 m),
• underground workings including 504 shafts, among
them 24 major ones, eight surface drives and 12 adits,
• geology of the basement,
• extent of coal seams, mined and existing, including
large-scale tectonics, and
• structures including the outcrops of marker horizons in
the upper Niederhäslich-Schweinsdorf-Formation.
The mining section starts with a discourse on the mining
of various raw materials and minerals in the Döhlen Basin
with coal mining representing the most significant activity.
The section describes the innovative technical and operational
processes of the time.
A time table of the mining activities was compiled from
drawings and saved documents. Occasional copper mining
and, since 1558, several periods of alum and vitriol production
from coal have taken place. The widespread quarrying
of limestone is completely documented for the first time.
Unfavourable conditions made mining difficult, for instance
poor coal seams at comparatively large depth, extreme
hardness of the coal, long drifts, lack of process water and
conversely, large water inflow that had to be removed. As a
IV
consequence, mining required particularly careful planning
and preparation. The challenges were overcome with great
efforts and brilliant technical problem solving that are still
admirable today. These are described in great detail in the
chapter on mining topics.
Most remarkable are the “Tiefe Weißeritz Stolln” (Deep
Weisseritz water gallery) with a length of 6,630 m and the
“Tiefe Elbstolln” (Deep Elbe water gallery) driven through
monzonite in 1817-1837 over a distance of 5,970 m,
totalling a length of 11,000 m including secondary galleries.
Two mechanical power transmissions, 670 m and 420 m
long, connected the mines to water wheels at the
Weisseritz stream. In 1820, the first steam engine of
Saxony started running at “Zauckerode Kunstschacht”. By
1867 the number of steam engines had increased to 25.
Without steam power, the mines on the upland of Burgk
would not have been operational and the day-shafts of the
“Tiefe Elbstolln” could not have been sunk.
There are more historic technological developments worth
mentioning: The world’s first electric mine locomotive in
1882, a coal-cutting machine invented by the LILIENTHAL
brothers, renowned aviation pioneers, the invention of the
wet processing of coal by E. F. W. LINDIG, the coking process
and the production of coal gas in the “2. Gas Plant” of
Saxony that was lighting the main street of Burgk.
Along with technological progress, the improvement of the
road system and later the railway (1853) enhanced the economic
development of the region. The coal mining gave rise
to various industrial enterprises producing alum, bricks,
glass, porcelain, iron, steel, and quicklime. Remarkable is
also Saxony’s first coal and coke firing blast furnace.
The difficult mining conditions called for meticulous planning
and preparation of the mining activities. As a result,
surveying became a highly developed undertaking. For the
first time, HAUSSE, the most prominent surveyor in the mining
area developed methods for calculating the subsidence
of the surface due to mining.
Despite the advanced management of the mines, some
accidents occurred, such as a catastrophic mine explosion
in 1869 with 276 casualties.
The railway, which had been favourable for the progress of
coal mining, finally became the cause for its decline as it
brought access to other highly productive mining areas so
that the coal output in the Döhlen Basin decreased rapidly
after having reached a maximum of 660,972 t in 1900.
A special chapter of this monograph is dedicated to the
detailed first-time presentation of prospecting development,
and output of uranium mining (1949-1989: output
3,691.3 t at an average grade of 0.09 % uranium) in the
Döhlen Basin.”
Exploration began in 1947 by specialists of the Red Army
and the Soviet Secret Service. After the confiscation of
selected coal mines by the military administration in East
Germany, the Soviet-owned SAG Wismut extracted uranif-