Title: Regional Profile Report - Central Europe

In response to this problem, parts of the contaminated areas were included in the federal
programme MEGASITES. The “Major Ecological Project – Mansfelder Land“ (Ökologisches
Großprojekt) was established in 1993. The main aim was to reduce dust exposure and to
improve the quality of the surface water among the drainage area of Mansfeld lakes. The
realisation of the rehabilitation measures is due to run from 1999 to 2009. The project
required a total funding of about 32 million EUR, 75% for which were covered by the federal
state of Germany, while 25% were absorbed by the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Another important and especially visible problem regarding environmental damages is the
aspect of the numerous dumps in the region. As mentioned above more than 50 million m³ of
material were removed only due copper mining. While some of the dumps are today used as
material for road constructions, there remain still huge areas of unsecured dumps, often
without vegetation (see Fig. 4+5). Besides the characteristic cone dumps
(“Spitzkegelhalden”) there are also many filled up valleys or depressions in the region. The
dark colour of the shaft-heaps stems from the stones of the middle-Permian epoch
(Zechstein). Those materials hamper the growth of plants due to its content of heavy metals.
Other environmental problems are the rising ground water levels around the lake area of the
“Süßer See” (“Sweet Lake”), leading to effects of salinisation and desertification on the
ground surface (Röblingen area).
Figure 5: Landscape with mining heaps in Wimmelburg near Eisleben
(Picture: IOER - Bieberstein)
Regional Profile Mansfeld-Südharz
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